By Morris Wambua

Let's weep for Kenya—a country blessed with the most vibrant economy in East Africa, a strategic geographical location, and a resilient people; yet chocked by poverty, hunger, and underdevelopment.

Kenya remains shackled by two monstrous evils namely corruption and greed. These forces have infected every part of the nation, preventing it from realizing its full potential.

Year after year, the same story unfolds—grand promises of reform, zero action, and a deeper descent into the abyss of theft, dishonesty, and impunity. Meanwhile, millions of Kenyans are left to suffer in silence, victims of a rotting system that betrays them daily.

Corruption and greed have not just stained the fabric of society—they have torn it apart. They are the shackles that hold the nation hostage, and it's time to speak the brutal truth that Kenya is being devoured from the inside out, and the greedy, corrupt elite are feasting on its carcass brazenly.

The Cancer in the Halls of Power

The rot starts at the top, where power is not seen as a mandate to serve but as an opportunity to steal. Every election is a farce, not an exercise in democracy but a bidding war to see which politician can steal the most public money once they’re in office.

Every election, we often say, "may tbe best candidate win." The bitter truth, however, is that the correct statement ought to be, "may the best thief win."

Campaigns are fueled by dirty money—money that comes with promises of shady deals, inflated contracts, and theft of public resources.

You, the corrupt politician, know exactly what happens next.

You loot with impunity, confident that the legal system will shield you.

Justice, for you, is a joke.

You are the cancer that eats away at the soul of this country.

Instead of hospitals, we see mansions. Instead of schools, you buy luxury cars. Instead of safe roads, we get potholes deep enough to swallow entire vehicles. And in your shamelessness, you have the audacity to claim leadership.

You’re not a leader—you’re a parasite, feeding off the blood of the people who trusted you!

While your children attend schools abroad, Kenyan children sit in overcrowded, crumbling classrooms with no textbooks. While you fly to plush hospitals in Europe and Asia, pregnant women in your own country give birth on hospital floors, left to die because of the lack of basic medical equipment.

You have failed.

Your greed has turned this country into a nightmare for the common mwananchi, while you wallow in ill-gotten wealth.

A Hollowed-Out Public Sector

The public sector in Kenya is nothing but a graveyard of failed promises and stolen money. Every major infrastructure project seems to exist solely as a conduit for theft.

The infamous Goldenberg scandal? Billions stolen.

The Anglo Leasing scam? Billions more.

The NYS saga? Yet another example of how deep the rot goes.

The stalled projects? A constant reminder among us, of the greed that has plagued our society.

These aren't just stories in the news—they are stark evidence of how corruption has hollowed out every single institution that was meant to serve the people. What is even more disgusting is the impunity with which you, the corrupt, operate. Scandal after scandal, and nothing happens. You laugh in the face of justice because you know how to rig the system.

Investigations go nowhere, prosecutions are rare, and convictions are nonexistent. You’ve built a system where the guilty never pay, but the citizens do. You have turned Kenya into a kleptocracy, a state where theft is the only law of the land.

When was the last time a senior government official went to prison for corruption?

You can’t even remember, because it never happens.

Instead, you continue to rob the nation blind, knowing full well that the courts, the police, and even the media are, in many cases, just as compromised as you are.

The Scars of Greed in Education and Healthcare

Your greed has left its most visible scars in education and healthcare. It is appalling that in the 21st century, children are still crammed into classrooms where the roof is falling in, where books are
scarce, and where teachers are so demoralized that they can hardly be blamed for not showing up.

Free education was supposed to be a path out of poverty for millions, but because of your insatiable greed, it has become a cruel joke. You, the corrupt education officials and local administrators, steal from the children.

You are thieves of the future. Every time you siphon off money meant for school supplies, textbooks, or teacher salaries, you are stealing directly from the hands of Kenya's next generation. And the worst part?

You don’t care. You sleep at night knowing that millions of children will never reach their potential because of the system you helped destroy.

How do you live with yourself?

And healthcare—what a disaster. Under your leadership, public hospitals have become death traps. Doctors are overworked, underpaid, and striking regularly because they aren’t being given their dues.

Meanwhile, you run off to the finest hospitals abroad. For you, healthcare is just another opportunity to steal—billions of shillings are lost in procurement scandals, inflated tenders, and ghost projects. While you bask in luxury, ordinary Kenyans are forced to suffer and die in squalid, ill-equipped hospitals. How much more will you steal before you’re satisfied?

The Daily Normalization of Corruption

The saddest reality is that you have normalized corruption to such an extent that even the common Kenyan feels powerless without engaging in it. Whether it’s bribing a traffic cop or paying off a
government official to process documents, corruption has become the norm.

You, the corrupt elite, have created a culture where honesty is a liability and where success comes only through theft, bribery, and deceit. Children grow up watching their parents pay bribes to get by. They learn early that in this country, integrity gets you nowhere. And you, the ones responsible for perpetuating this culture, you should hang your heads in shame.

Your greed has not only destroyed the economy—it has destroyed the moral fabric of the nation. You are raising a generation that knows nothing but how to cheat, steal, and manipulate their way to the top.

The Private Sector’s Dirty Hands

The private sector? You’re just as guilty. From bloated government contracts to inflated invoices, businesses have cozied up to corruption because it’s profitable. Many of you are quick to decry
corruption in public forums, but behind closed doors, you grease the wheels with bribes and kickbacks to secure tenders and licenses.

You are part of the problem—not because the system forces you to be corrupt, but because you actively choose to engage in it.

You justify your actions by saying it’s the onlyway to do business in Kenya. But that’s a lie. The truth is that you have chosen the path of least resistance. You, too, are guilty of helping build this house of cards. You, too, have profited off the misery of ordinary Kenyans who suffer because of your greed.

Is There Hope?

In the face of all this rot, is there hope for Kenya? Only if Kenyans rise up and say ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. The power to change this country lies not in the hands of the politicians or the businessmen—it lies in the hands of the people.

Civil society, whistleblowers, journalists—these are the true patriots of Kenya, risking their lives to expose the greed and corruption that have destroyed the country. But they cannot do it alone.

It’s time for Kenyans to stop accepting corruption as the way things are.

It’s time to demand real accountability.

Every time you accept a bribe or pay one, you are helping to destroy the future of this country. Every time you look the other way, you are allowing the corrupt to continue stealing from your children.

It has to stop!

The Path to Redemption

Kenya is a land of immense potential, but corruption and greed have turned it into a land of broken promises and shattered dreams. The corrupt and greedy have thrived, while the people have suffered.

This must end.

Kenya will never realize its greatness as long as its leaders, its public servants, and its business people continue to see it as nothing more than a resource to be plundered.

The answer lies in the hands of ordinary Kenyans. You have the power to demand change. You have the power to reject the corrupt and hold them accountable.

But it starts with you—every bribe you refuse to pay, every corrupt official you refuse to support, is a step toward the Kenya we all deserve.

For too long, this country has been held hostage bythe corrupt and the greedy.

It’s time to break free.

The question now is not whether corruption and greed will continue to shackle Kenya—but whether the people will rise up and break those shackles once and for all.