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President William Ruto yesterday told Kenyans that he will not interfere with the fight against corruption nor seek to control independent institutions mandated to fight graft.

Addressing his first Mashujaa Day celebrations at Uhuru Gardens in Nairobi, Ruto said the presidency will also give a free hand to the justice, law and order sector.

“The fight against corruption must be won,” Ruto said in his address.

“Our government intends to wage this fight and demonstrate its commitment to zero tolerance to corruption by making all public servants accountable, and submitting to the oversight of Parliament and other constitutionally mandated institutions.”

Ruto also said he was committed to the rule of law, fidelity to constitutional due process and implementation of judicial decrees and orders.

“Under my administration, there shall be no interference with, or any attempts to control, direct or undermine independent institutions,” he told Kenyans. 

Police, the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, Judiciary and the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission will be allowed to perform their duties independently and professionally but be subjected to oversight under the new administration that has been in power for five weeks now.

“This is our vision for ensuring that the war on corruption is not itself corrupted by inappropriate interventions,” said the Head of State.

He directed investigations into cases where a section of police officers have been accused of extra-judicial killings. The officers were members of the recently disbanded elite squad, the Special Services Unit (SSU), which was domiciled under the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI).

The President ordered that SSU be disbanded last week after a report presented to him pointed accusing fingers at its officers, blaming them for the deaths of 10 Kenyans and forced disappearances, including of two Indian IT experts ahead of the August 9 elections.

Disastrous policies

Ruto said that a professional police service would not resort to disastrous policies like extra-judicial murder as part of policing.

“I believe we can keep this country safe and secure without tormenting our people,” he told the gathering at the grounds rehabilitated by his predecessor, retired President Uhuru Kenyatta. “We can efficiently and effectively suppress crime, monitor, disrupt and apprehend criminals without abducting, torturing, killing or causing citizens to disappear”.

The Head of State said he has effected changes in the National Police Service to ensure its independence. Last week, he appointed Amin Mohamed Ibrahim to head the DCI after the National Police Service Commission shortlisted him for the position.

Amin was sworn into office on Wednesday in a ceremony presided over by Chief Justice Martha Koome at the Supreme Court in Nairobi. He will be deputised by Nicholas Kamwende, who has now taken over from Hamisi Massa who served as the interim DCI Director following the resignation of George Kinoti last month.

Massa has since proceeded on terminal leave ahead of his retirement in December.

Yesterday, Ruto said the leadership changes in the police service would lead to institutional credibility and efficiency, citizen safety and effective maintenance of law and order.

The Head of State added that streamlining the police service would ensure the Criminal Justice system is run professionally. He has in the past accused the previous administration of politicising the way on corruption.

Robust mechanisms

 “I have directed that immediate measures be undertaken to disband the Special Services Unit in the Directorate of Criminal Investigations and with urgency, investigations must commence so that those found culpable are held accountable,” Ruto said.

“There must also be robust mechanisms throughout the police service to maintain high professional standards, scrupulous adherence to the rule of law, accountability for actions and decisions and operational transparency.”

On the much-awaited Hustler’s Fund that will be launched on December 1, President Ruto said the money will only be loaned to small enterprises enrolled on digital platforms. They will be charged affordable interest rates. He has in the past said interest will be single digit.

The Fund, which is meant to aid Kenyans in doing business, was among Ruto’s key promises during his election campaigns.

“Credit products will be available under the hustler fund to small businesses on digital platforms at affordable rates, being single-digit rates, to individuals through chamas, saccos and cooperatives,” he told the cheering crowd.

Access to credit has traditionally been one of the challenges preventing the growth of small businesses that lacked collateral to secure bank loans. The other was high interest rates – now at between 14 and 19 per cent – that banks charge based on a borrower’s risk assessment.

The President emphasised that Kenyans who will have enrolled onto the platform will be given an opportunity to grow their savings in addition to pension arrangements so that they can save for old age.

The third component Ruto highlighted was the ratio at which savings made by Kenyans on the platform will be matched by the government as dictated by the programme.

“Every saving made by borrowers on this platform will be matched by the government on a 2:1 ratio to a level to be determined by the programme,” he said of the plan through which the government intends to encourage a savings culture.

Kenyans’ savings ratio stands at about 12 per cent of national wealth, against a globally recommended ration of 25 per cent, making Kenya one of the countries with a poor savings culture.

The Head of State had earlier noted that the Hustler Fund will not be made available as a grant, but as loans which borrowers will be asked to pay back. A digital platform will make it easy for administrators of the fund to track borrowers and to ensure compliance with loan repayment terms.

On agriculture, Ruto said his administration will take agriculture as the lead sector that will drive Kenya’s economic transformation.

He noted that due to the current drought — coupled with the high global fertiliser prices — the agriculture sector had been adversely affected.

“Our government’s initial intervention to mitigate these challenges has been to step up food supply in northern Kenya and other regions and ensure better coordination between government and development partners. We thank our partners for their input that has gone a long way in relieving the dire situation,” said the President.

He also disclosed that the government had made arrangements to make another six million bags of various types of fertiliser available ahead of the long rains season.

Last month, the government imported 1.5 million 50kg bags and distributed them at a cost of Sh3,500, down from the earlier Sh6,500.

In addition to improving agriculture, Ruto said his government was committed to closing the housing gap, which stands at two million units. Earlier in the week, he commissioned a project to build low-cost houses in Rongai.

“Our target is to increase the supply fourfold from 50,000 to 200,000 per year,” he said. “Already, 2,592 units have been completed, 40,452 are under construction and over 500,000 units that require funding for bulk infrastructure are in the pipeline”.