Reading through stories of fraud and corruption in our country I come to the conclusion that, mostly, the perpetrators of corruption in the country are just petty thieves riding on the current impunity, sense of entitlement and sheer disrespect of the rule of law. Most of ‘our thieves’ have not mastered the art of deception that truly characterise real and hardened conmen. And so, they steal carelessly, leaving behind marks of poor workmanship on the crime scene. They steal public money almost as an obligation associated with serving people. They believe they are just taking their turn of becoming billionaires without breaking any sweat! However, our thieves lack the stealth to create and execute a fool-proof heist because they rush and scramble for the free-fall of opportunities that come with power and authority.

In this entry, I would like to muse over why we have people in the public service who still believe they can get away with fraud and corruption when they do not possess the real art of enduring a chase with the law.

It is not uncommon these days to hear news about people in public office that have been caught or convicted for corruption related scandals. Ordinarily, one would expect that by now, with the experience and lessons from other corruption scandals such as cash-gate, maize-gate, tractor-gate, the manner of stealing public finances would become sufficiently sophisticated to match the mark and standards of real grand and organised corruption. I am tempted to state that I am embarrassed that our crime bursting agencies have to spend millions of tax-payers funds chasing petty and opportunistic criminals whose only qualification to stealing is the belief that it is their turn to loot public resources and that their social and political standing provides an unwritten moratorium for them to violate the law.

Impunity simply implies freedom from punishment. Our country is well supplied with stories of people that have managed to get away with criminal acts just because they were untouchable. These were people that became exempted from facing justice because of their powerful and privileged public positions. And so they carelessly engaged in fleecing the economy as long as their impunity could last. But the veil of impunity wears out quickly for those that fall off from privileges of power. The thieves of today would do better not to steal under the cover of impunity. It does not last long.

Defiance to the law is manifested by an attitude of “catch me if you can” by those with a false conviction that they are clever enough to dodge the law. Looking at current and past corruption and fraud scandals, it is very clear that most of those that have been caught are people that are somewhat familiar with the law. They knowingly choose to defy it with the confidence that somehow, they will be spared because of the privileges of their social and political positions. They act like bullies and steal with no sense of caution while investing in a lifestyle that does not match their lawful earnings. They lack the skills to continually calculate risks and work to beat the system ahead of time. Soon they get caught.

The other group of unsophisticated thieves comprise people with a sense of entitlement. These are men and women inebriated with a feeling that the world owes them something that they have not even earned. We have a lot of these in everywhere including our places of worship. They thrive on the illusion that public service entitles them to own what does not belong to them. Their character is anchored on greed. They strive to create opportunities to steal with no regard to the obvious consequences of their selfish acts. Unlike the legendary Robin Hood, our unsophisticated thieves literally steal from the poor and split the loot among their kind. The world is no longer as closed as it used to be. It does not take long for these thieves to be exposed.

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