Department of Social sciences
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Item Rent-seeking and Taxation Pilfering in Kenya: Impact on Post-colonial Economy(African Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences (AJHSS), 2019) Tarus, I.Kenyans have witnessed taxation injustice since the colonial period. At the onset, colonial taxation in Kenya materialized as an instrument of submission, governance and of economic exploitation. It is through taxation that the peasantry and the working class was formed, fashioned and captured by the state. Within the post-colonial state, and in association with the comprador bourgeoisie and the political elite, their daily discourse and clichés, skulks around - ‘Whose goat have I eaten?’ Where is the place of the subaltern citizen? Who bears the burden of taxes and who benefits from public programmes? Do taxpayers have a role in the appropriation of revenue collected? How have taxation policies affected the everyday life of the subaltern citizen? The Gramscian model of the subaltern collective marginalization by the hegemonic ruling classes and Hirschman’s representation of exit, voice and loyalty perspective guides the thinking behind this article. Do hegemonic taxpayers have exit or voice options? Retrospectively, independence did not certainly alter the parasitic nature of the colonial state. Subtle and opportunistic systems continue to be exploited by both central and county governments to project regressive taxes. This article examines the basics of taxation pilfering in Kenya and argues that the postcolonial state remains predatory, hence the urgency to deconstruct the tax regime.Item A Review of the Changing Nature of Corruption in Post-independent Kenya(African Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences (AJHSS), 2019) Osamba, J.O.Corruption continues to be a major challenge to Kenya’s socio-economic and political development. Corruption has undergone a metamorphosis over the years. In the 1960s and 1970s, corruption was referred to in terms of “ten percent” whereby senior government officials allegedly used to demand a ten percent of the cost or value of any government project or tender from the successful bidders. However, since the 1990s corruption in the country has reached unprecedented high levels. This has been evident in mega corruption scandals such as the Goldenberg and the Anglo-Leasing, among others, in which the Government lost billions of Kenya shillings in fraudulent and fictitious business deals. Corruption in the country has become a culture and it permeates all aspects of life. The government over the years seems to have lost steam in the fight against corruption. The anti-corruption structures and institutions which have been established over the years have not achieved much. With the enactment of the new constitution in 2010, corruption has been devolved to the counties with the emergence of ‘eating chiefs’ in all parts of Kenya and not only in Nairobi as was previously the case. Many Kenyans seem to have accepted corruption as fait accompli. Most studies on corruption have focused on the financial and economic losses countries incur due to the menace. Very few studies have focused on the changing nature of corruption which is the focus of this article. The objectives of the article were: to trace the forms of corruption in Kenya; examine the challenges in the war on corruption in Kenya; and to suggest effective measures that could be used in dealing with corruption and its effects. The article adopted a single exploratory case study, which was predominantly qualitative, incorporating extensive use of written documents. The study findings are: First, institutions that have been created to deal with corruption in Kenya have been largely stillborn and have demonstrated ineptitudes in dealing with corruption. Secondly, the state has failed to adopt more effective measures to effectively deal with the menace. The study contributes to the current debate on corruption and its impact on African States as outlined by Transparency International in its 2016 report.Item Euphemistic Sugarcoats of Bribe in Dholuo: A Cognitive Integration Model(African Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences (AJHSS), 2019) Ogal, G. O.; Macharia, K.T.The supposition by cognitive linguists that certain language data requires analysis above conventional provisions of grammar is the take-off point in the studies exploring the relationship between cognition and language. This article examines the euphemisms of bribe in Dholuo using cognitive integration theory, a fabric dealing with human experiences and how individuals conceptualize them. The study adopted a descriptive research design in which respondents were asked to mention euphemistic and dysphemistic alternatives of bribe in Dholuo. An interview schedule was used to collect data which was transcribed, categorized, quantified and then processed using CIT to get the metaphorical mappings of the emergent structures. For a better understanding of these euphemisms, the study considered how local contexts work with mental spaces to produce a network of pragmatic inferences in the human brain. The general finding of this study is that bribe is food, bribe is fuel and bribe is utility. The article, therefore, recommends that for a better understanding of euphemisms, one should consider contexts expressed in language since such yield novel meanings. The study concludes that euphemistic expressions are common ways of conceptualizing bribe in Kenya. The study further establishes that a euphemism, when subjected to inadequacies of grammar alone, robs one of the full ability to appreciate new interpretations. On these grounds, the study invokes the lenses of a cognitive linguist.Item Cutting with Words: Kick out Corruption with Swahili Proverbs(African Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences (AJHSS), 2019) Mwangi, L.; Maitaria, J.N.Corruption is a thorny issue that has (and still) is being discussed by the people and features prominently in social media: not a single day passes without it being mentioned either openly or in secrecy. In Kenya and in other African countries in general, corruption has become a real menace to the citizens. It has brought social-political havoc and economic chaos to the country. A day hardly passes without it having a place in peoples’ discussions. Therefore, it is an issue that needs to be urgently addressed. The question that lingers is: how can we address corruption issues so that people view it as a national disaster? People need to be educated and awakened about the need to wipe it out in our society by invoking the ‘cutting words’ of proverbs. This will engage people in an open and fruitful discussion with an aim of arriving at an agreed stand on the issue of corruption. In addition, an enabling environment has to be created where people are encouraged to voluntarily give their suggestions and views without fear so that the root cause of corruption can be unearthed, and the way forward found. This calls for individual and collective discussion using popular statements, and this is where proverbs come in handy. Though, in Kenya (like other East Africa countries) there are diverse ethnic groupings but as a community the region has a shared vision and philosophy in use of the available proverbs that are embedded in Kiswahili language. These contextual and popular statements have been in use informally as custodian and an expression of people’s culture. They can, therefore, be invoked and made use of when an issue that endangers the fabric of unity and their well-being as a people arise. This article proposes that, Swahili proverbs as culturally accepted statements when used appropriately, can give a broad picture of the various causes and manifestations of corruption in Kenyan situation. It is on the basis of this that the root cause will be laid bare and citizens will not only be widely enlightened on how corruption is manifested but also on how to be alert (without use of force) so as to curb the menace of this magnitude at individual and collective level.Item The Yoruba Philosophy of Law and the Challenge of Corruption in Nigeria(AFRICAN JOURNAL OF HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES (AJHSS), 2019) Adebayo, A; Akintona, E.OOne of the challenges confronting nation-building in Africa today is the incessant, destructive social forces and corruption in particular. The mechanism of accountability and transparency has been perverted not only by managers of governance, but by anti-corruption agencies. For example, the penal codes in Nigeria have become inertial as anti-corruption agencies cannot match word with evolving criminality, and the judiciary who is supposed to be the last hope of the masses, has become unreliable. The article adopts conceptual, analytic and evaluative methods to examine corruption in the Nigeria system of government and how the Yoruba philosophy of law can resolve some of the impending problems associated with it. The Yoruba philosophy of law is enriched with moral rectitude (iwa) and integrity (omoluwabi); it provokes reformative mind sets from time to time in order to achieve and maintain social equilibrium. The article concludes that the embellished moral content of the Yoruba philosophy of law outwit the Western mainstream legal system; hence, adopting it will go a long way in solving the perennial problem of corruption in Africa and Nigeria in particular.