By NERIMA WAKO-OJIWA

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Could one chapter of the Kenyan constitution be the silver bullet for better leadership and good governance? Chapter 6 strictly focuses on leadership and the kinds of attributes an individual in leadership should possess yet it carries no repercussions for those who choose to violate their positions of influence.

Some have argued that it was completely watered down and exists as a chapter that we skim through. We know of its existence but there is this unspoken secret that leaders choose not to take it seriously, but how can we?

Nairobi governorship is up for grabs and it's going to be heavily contested just because of how much power the capital possesses.

Devolution was to curb all this, reduce and eradicate the federal system, but the fight and interest in that seat shows you just how far we are from that actually happening.

One begins to appreciate systems like those of Washington DC, which is not run like other states. Can Nairobi be run like other counties?

Individuals who will be allowed by the Independent and Electoral Boundaries Commission to vie during the Nairobi gubernatorial by-election will be proof of whether we observe particular requirements, because a clean record is one of them. This will also determine whether we follow Chapter 6 of our constitution or not.

The former governor should not have passed this very level to begin with, yet he did. And perhaps we would have been saved from all this drama and saved a few coins and people’s good time in the impeachment process. Those are the things that we should be looking at when we talk about institutionalising, accountability and transparency. It just doesn’t fall from the sky and this is what is inculcated in the youth.

What this is teaching future generations is basically, if you have enough money, then it's very easy for you to cleanse yourself politically, but where you get that money from no one is concerned.

President Mwai Kibaki’s administration tried implementing wealth declarations — including the current administration. Such announcements are always made with flair and oomph — and die just as quickly as they rose. Serving civil servants treat the declarations as optional and what if questionable accumulated wealth is discovered? What next?

There is no point having some clauses in our constitution if we do not plan to implement them.

This will be a test as to whether we need the chapter, or if it is there for show. Should we be honest and remove it?

Fool me once, shame on you fool me twice shame on me.

Nerima Wako-Ojiwa is the Executive Director, Siasa Place @NerimaW