Corruption: miry bog of all manner of scam in Africa

Corruption has been seen as the mainstay of African countries. Many African leaders have soiled their hands with it; Corrupt dealings and corrupt everything...

It pains me, especially, when I think of the many people whose hard-earned money is taken and used by corrupt officials. This is, as they say, to grease their hands so that whatever is being pursued can be accomplished in half the time.

But should people 'pay' for services that are their right to receive without paying for them?

There is also what we call 'high-level' corruption.
This one takes place in the background. This is to say,the players in this game are well cushioned against any kind of detection, especially by the man in the street.

This is corruption that takes place in the 'high' offices; and the stakes in this game are big time!
Paper, pen and computer files do all the 'stealing' of precious tax payers 'coins'.

This really hurts the common man who has entrusted his 'life' to the leaders who engage in such kind of turpitude.

This is the same feeling that drove me to 'scribble' the poem below when I heard and read about the Anglo Leasing scam Kenya recently.


In the days of yore kenyans' political ken suffered such dearth,
Political simulation, stimulation incomprehensible,
Legion political 'achilles heels' looming large in stormy seas,
Such was the tune, of such no panacea promised respite.
With the advent of a new regime,
Political turbulence 'seemed' to be 'burnt to a frazzle',
Hodge-podge politicking was thrown out the window,
Magnified promises to the masses graced the billboards.

Time flew fast and with it came a 'new' breeze,
A recrudescence of past ills set in on our soil,
Power wrangling, 'power fisticuffs' so to speak,
Were replete in our mainstream press.

Then it came our way, a giant two-headed bug,
As it set in, a loud bang ensued,
Then silence, a silence reminiscent of a calm in a storm,
The 'eye of the storm' spinning in murderous frenzy.

Everything in disarray, in shambles,
As the bug wend its way into the coffers,
Lining many a ministers insatiable pocket,
With dollars, pounds, Euros, shillings.

Anglo Leasing's the giant bug,
That has sucked the blood of the 'common mwananchi',
It 'engulfed' my hard-earned supper yesterday,
And cast me a look that bespoke penury in my posterity.