Welcome to Kenya, where the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) wants us to throw a parade because they caught a man demanding the price of a mediocre weekend dinner. On Tuesday, they dragged Mr. Odhiambo, a Kisumu County Revenue Officer, to court for allegedly soliciting 18,500 shillings and settling for a measly 10k.

Don’t get me wrong, corruption is corruption, but let’s look at the “efficiency” of this system. This man, who was basically taxing a matatu driver for the “privilege” of not having charges fabricated against him, was released on a 20,000-shilling cash bail. The kicker? His hearing is scheduled for February 25, 2026. Two years of waiting for a 10,000-shilling case. By the time this reaches a

It’s the same old script we saw with the Major Security Crackdown at JKIA Leads to Arrest of Human Traffickers and Fraudsters. They make a lot of noise at the gates, parade a few suspects for the cameras, and then the system goes into a deep slumber.

While the EACC is busy chasing bus park officials, they casually mentioned the Homa Bay heist, 348 million shillings lost in irregular tenders. Four officials and two directors. Do you think they’ll wait until 2026 for a hearing? Probably not. They’ll hire senior counsel who know how to make files “disappear” or keep the case in mention-mode until we all forget the name of the county involved.

We’re being fed these small wins like they’re gourmet meals. They want us to believe the “crackdown has intensified,” but all I see is a net designed to catch minnows while the whales tear right through it. If 10k gets you a headline, then 348 million should get you life in Shimo la Tewa, but instead, everyone just “pleads not guilty” and goes back to their villas.

It’s not “public service delivery”; it’s public relations theatre. And frankly, we’re tired of the performance.