Handsome face of a hidden debt – that is the demeanour of former cabinet secretary Raphael Tuju. And he is not alone! His tribulations is just one of those things that are coiffured as political correctness.

A newspaper headline screams: Sura nzuri, lakini sheria ni sumu? (Beautiful face, but the law is poisonous?) It is a metaphor that goes beyond transparency and accountability – simply put: political correctness. Therein lies economic crimes that are being perpetrated by the West. The cousins – Muhoho and Muigai – are hard at work.

Have you noticed the development of the ongoing dam down in the coastal region? Specifically the Mwache Multi-Purpose Dam in Kwale. It falls under the Ministry of Water and Sanitation. However, there is nothing sanitary about it.

For us, what’s attractive is the cabinet secretary. Is he not tall, black and handsome? He knows his thing. He is Eng Eric Muriithi Mugaa, the youngest cabinet secretary, freshly minted – and nominated! So, is the guy at the dam project updating us and going for parliamentary meetings?

Behind the façade of a handsome face, tall and languidly posture, lies a deathly ignorance. The kind of ignorance that is waddled as maendeleo (development).

I cared to snoop – definitely you know I am a Public Legal Educator (Mhamasishaji-umma katika maswala ya sheria). When I see anything, I don’t just stick there. I see who, what, why, where, how, and why. I dare to scratch beneath the surface.

Part 1: Who are we dealing with?

I profiled him. Career, age, school, married, children – all the stones must be turned. He is a 33-year-old technocrat with a “clean” net worth of Ksh31 million ($239,475). But remember, a conduit doesn’t have to be a villain; they just have to be a face. His youth is the perfect sura (appearance) to sell a project that has deep, historic siri (hush-hush).

Part 2: Who’s paying and why?

Who’s funding the project? It’s the World Bank and the International Ministry Fund (IMF). And this is where the Conditions show up.

Recent Threat: The West grew tired of the waiting game. Recently, the International Monetary Fund and World Bank threatened to freeze funds for the Mwache Dam. Their demand? No money until the displaced persons were settled and, more importantly, until the Conflict of Interest Act was signed into law. They used our water as a hostage to force our hand.

Part 3: Six-year stall and the signature

This Conflict of Interest Bill did not start today. It was brought into being in 2019 during the Kieleweke (Uhuru Kenyatta) era. But it stuck in Parliament for six long years because it didn’t serve the country’s interests – it was a trap waiting to be set.

Handover: By July 2025, with the Mwache funds at stake, the government finally had to give in. President William Ruto signed that bill into law on July 30, 2025, satisfying the 2019 donor conditionality. The West finally got the signature they’ve been chasing for over half a decade.

Flashback: Capital flight and the 2019 trap

This Act is the tool used to justify Capital Flight from Africa – moving our wealth into “immune” international vaults where Kenyan courts cannot reach. They waited six years for this legal bridge to be built.

My kindergarten degree question

If I am lying, can someone who is a financial expert or a minister of foreign affairs educate me?

Why is the Conflict of Interest Act allowing banks like East Africa Development Bank luxuries to have access to the Exchequer’s purse without parliamentary permission?

France, UK, Belgium, and Germany strictly forbid their banks from touching the public purse without a vote. Why is it a “condition” for Kenya?

Look at their own financial institutions – the “twins” of our EADB – and how they are kept on a leash:

France (AFD): Under Article 47 of the French Constitution, Parliament has the absolute “power of the purse.” The AFD cannot touch the state budget without a specific vote.

Germany (KfW): Under Article 110 of the Basic Law (Grundgesetz), all revenues and expenditures must be included in the budget. The German Parliament (Bundestag) must approve every Euro.

Belgium (BIO): Under Article 174 of the Belgian Constitution, the budget must be voted on annually. No “Self-Interest Bill” allows their banks to bypass the House of Representatives.

UK (BII): The British International Investment is strictly overseen by the House of Commons. They cannot just “withdraw” from the UK Treasury without legislative approval.

The Tuju warning

Tuju thought he was “one of them” during Kieleweke in 2019. But look at him today, March 14, 2026:

He is at the Supreme Court with bribery videos because the system he helped build – the one Ruto finally signed into law to satisfy the banks – has finally locked him out.

Mwalimu’s verdict

We are celebrating the “Handsome Cabinet secretary” today, but remember – Tuju was also the “Handsome Cabinet Secretary” of 2005. Twenty years later, the suit is gone, the friends are gone, and only the debt and the statutes remain.

• A Tell Media report / By Faith Mirunde Hakala – Ms Hakala is a public legal educator and a long-serving paralegal in Kenyan judiciary.