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The Minister for Justice and Constitutional Affairs, Mutula Kilonzo was recently quoted as having said, “it is unfortunate they appear to say that Chapter 6 has no meaning and also ridiculous is that they appear to say that the Public Officers Ethics Act has no meaning,” a statement for which he has already come under fire.
Though the Minister was speaking to a specific circumstance (declarations made by the Deputy Prime Minister/Finance Minister, Uhuru Kenyatta, and MP William Ruto that they would continue their presidential bids regardless of indictments from the International Criminal Court) his statement draws attention to the wider issue of the gap between the rhetoric and real life application of the leadership principles set out in Chapter 6 of the constitution.
Chapter 6 of the constitution requires that state officers use their authority in a manner that:
Chapter 6 further has as the guiding principles for leadership and integrity:
Chapter 6 is pretty straightforward, in my view at least. Chapter 6 on leadership is not aspirational, nor is it a moving target, or one to be selectively applied to different state officials. All state officers are equally subject to the chapter; if you fail to meet the standards in the chapter you fail the leadership test. Someone jokingly said, “With all the requirements in Chapter 6 its unlikely that anyone in the current administration will make it into the new one,” but maybe that’s the point.
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