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DE RUEHNR #0541/01 0761308
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P 171308Z MAR 09
FM AMEMBASSY NAIROBI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 8859
INFO RUEHDS/AMEMBASSY ADDIS ABABA 0457
RUEHDR/AMEMBASSY DAR ES SALAAM 6409
RUEHKM/AMEMBASSY KAMPALA 3193

UNCLAS NAIROBI 000541 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR AF/E 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL KDEM PHUM PGOV KE
SUBJECT: KENYA: AMBASSADOR'S REMARKS TO KENYA 
ANTI-CORRUPTION COMMISSION 
 
UNCLASSIFIED -- ENTIRE TEXT. 
 
¶1. As reported in septels, as part of efforts to tackle the 
culture of impunity, and specifically corruption, the Mission 
is using a combination of private pressure on the coalition 
government leaders, support for Parliament, a range of 
programs like the MCC threshold, assistance to civil society 
and others, and vigorous public diplomacy. 
 
¶2. This message reports remarks delivered by the Ambassador 
in February at the closing session of FBI-sponsored 
investigative training for personnel of the Kenya 
Anti-Corruption Commission.  They were widely and positively 
covered in the media. 
 
¶3. Begin text of Ambassador,s remarks: 
 
Given the importance of fighting corruption, I am delighted 
to join you today for the closing of this U.S.-funded Public 
Anti-Corruption Training Seminar.  I know that you have 
gained a lot from the experienced U.S. instructors ) and 
they have undoubtedly benefited from your perspective as 
well.  I am confident that you will employ this new expertise 
to investigate and prosecute incidents of corruption in the 
public sector.  The Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission is 
Kenya,s front line in the fight against corruption.  That is 
why the U.S. Government has been working hard for years in 
support of the KACC. 
 
In my remarks to the "Kenya We Want" conference earlier this 
week, I stated that we want for Kenyans what they want for 
themselves:  a prosperous democratic future that will advance 
the well-being of all Kenyans. 
 
Although this is a very ambitious agenda, many Kenyans have 
told me that it can be carried out if leaders demonstrate the 
political will to do so, and if the Kenyan people insist on 
action.  As the professionals of the KACC, you all are at the 
forefront of the fight against corruption.  I urge you all to 
be bold and energetic against corruption.  At a time when 
politicians sometimes send conflicting and confusing signals 
about their political will to fight corruption, an even 
heavier responsibility falls on the professionals who must 
pursue this immensely challenging task.  I understand how 
difficult it is to do your jobs effectively, but as you 
proceed, you should be motivated by the fact that the Kenyan 
people have high expectations for action against corruption. 
The fight against corruption must be waged from the top down, 
but also from the bottom up ) and each individual, both 
within the KACC and throughout the society ) bears 
responsibility for acting with integrity to fight corruption. 
 
The recent scandals regarding the shortage and pricing of 
maize, and the unusual allocation of oil to companies that 
have resulted in serious public losses are just two of the 
daily litany of public questions about corruption.  These 
scandals highlight the huge challenges inherent in 
investigating and prosecuting corruption. 
 
Public corruption investigations involve some of the most 
complex work in law enforcement.  Even in the United States, 
these types of investigations often last for months, or even 
years.  You, the investigators and lawyers who are charged 
with identifying, investigating, and prosecuting corrupt 
activities, must be smart ) and patient.  You have to use 
increasingly sophisticated investigative techniques to prove 
a crime has been committed to counter the increasingly 
sophisticated criminal techniques being used to take and hide 
the stolen money.  And since these criminals are not 
constrained by borders as you often are, you also need to 
develop close working relationships with counterparts and 
colleagues in other countries to trace the proceeds of 
illegal activities. 
You have just completed a week of training in which you have 
worked with a U.S. federal judge, a U.S. federal prosecutor, 
and a number of agents from the Federal Bureau of 
Investigation, who specialize in public corruption 
investigations.   The discussions and presentations were 
designed to demonstrate some of the best practices United 
States and international investigators are using to 
successfully prosecute these cases.  Now you must harness 
these techniques to support Kenyan efforts. 
 
I understand that during this training seminar, you looked at 
corruption in various areas of government and explored 
methods that you may be able to employ to identify, 
investigate, and prosecute corrupt practices.  You studied 
how corruption may involve a wide range of activity, from the 
 
high-level embezzlement of public funds to the petty 
corruption of traffic police who take bribes at roadside 
checkpoints.  Corruption may take place purely within the 
borders or Kenya, or it may involve cross-border activities. 
The illegal activity you investigate may originate in the 
private sector, or it may be initiated by a corrupt official. 
 It may take the form of embezzlement, or it may involve the 
misappropriation of funds by a public official.  In other 
words, public corruption may be disguised in many different 
ways.  The result, however, is always the same:  corruption 
undermines the public trust. 
 
A primary purpose of this training has been to encourage you 
to build partnerships with other investigators in the law 
enforcement community, both here in Kenya and abroad.   I 
hope you take what you have learned this week and apply new 
investigative techniques in the public corruption 
investigations you are handling.  I encourage you to develop 
a network among your Kenyan colleagues and others in the 
international law enforcement community who do this type of 
work.  The partnerships you build will help you enhance your 
investigative skills and improve your ability to trace the 
proceeds of the criminal activities perpetrated against the 
people of Kenya. 
 
There has never been a more opportune or important time in 
Kenya,s history to fight corruption. Kenyans and their 
friends in the international community agree that there can 
be no return to the ways of the past, and the culture of 
impunity must not be allowed to persist.  Half measures, 
whether with respect to institutional reforms or to fighting 
the scourge of corruption, will not be credible to the Kenyan 
people or to the international community.  We stand with the 
Kenyan people who are insisting that the corruption cases 
which have come to light be fully investigated and 
perpetrators prosecuted.  It is not a question of rounding up 
the usual suspects and rearranging positions, and then doing 
business as usual. The tragic crisis of last year has opened 
up an unparalleled opportunity to bring about fundamental 
change, and I believe that nothing less than fundamental 
change will satisfy the Kenyan people. 
 
If carried out, that change will lay the basis for stronger 
democratic institutions and a better future for all Kenyans. 
There is in fact no alternative to the reform agenda ) and 
the fight against corruption is a key element of that agenda. 
 Unless actions are taken to begin altering the culture of 
impunity, Kenya faces the specter of even greater trouble in 
the future, and none of us want to see that.  While Kenyans 
are impatient for change, I would argue against those that 
might become cynical and those nay-sayers who see the glass 
as half empty.  The procurement act, more transparent 
government procedures, and greater scrutiny by civil society, 
the private sector, and the media are all encouraging.  But 
Kenyans want more, much more.  They want a clear break from 
the old culture of impunity.  They want effective enforcement 
against and prosecution of corruption. 
I urge the coalition government to send clear signals of 
strong support for the KACC and to provide all the resources 
necessary to undertake effective action. 
 
In thinking about the agenda for fundamental change in Kenya, 
and the fight against corruption, I want to recall what then 
Senator Obama said when he addressed students at the 
University of Nairobi in 2006. 
 
Senator Obama stated that: "In the end, if the people cannot 
trust their government to do the job for which it exists - to 
protect them and to promote their common welfare - all else 
is lost. And this is why the struggle against corruption is 
one of the great struggles of our time."  He went on to say 
that, based on his observations, "the Kenyan people are 
crying out for real change, and many Kenyans seemed to be 
sending (signals) of dissatisfaction with the pace of reform, 
and real frustration with continued tolerance of corruption 
at high levels.  Of course, in the end, one of the strongest 
weapons your country has against corruption is the ability of 
you, the people, to stand up and speak out about the 
injustices you see. The Kenyan people are the ultimate 
guardians against abuses. In today's Kenya - a Kenya already 
more open and less repressive than in my father's day - it is 
that courage that will bring the reform so many of you so 
desperately want and deserve."  Those words were prescient 
then and remarkably relevant now. 
I wish you success in your anti-corruption efforts, and I 
want to emphasize our unwavering support for you and for the 
Kenyan people as they pursue fundamental change. 
 
I would like to thank the Director of the Kenya 
Anti-Corruption Commission, Justice Aaron Ringera, for 
supporting this training effort.  I also want to thank Judge 
Virginia Kendall and all of the instructors who shared their 
knowledge and experiences with you. 
 
End text. 
RANNEBERGER