NAIROBI: Two years ago, Kenyans ranked as the most optimistic people on Earth. Residents of this East African nation had just voted out a corruption-riddled ruling party and replaced it with an opposition leader who promised to clean up government graft, boost the economy and approve a new constitution in his first 100 days.

Their exuberance spread to the West, where President Bush welcomed the new president, Mwai Kibaki, to the White House, anointing the country as one of Africa’s most promising emerging democracies. But after a strong start, Kibaki’s administration has stalled. High hopes have turned to bitter cynicism. And it’s not hard to find citizens who feel angry and betrayed. “We were conned,” Joseph Mwelesa, 32, said from behind the counter of his candy stand in Nairobi. “The (old) times were bad, but Kibaki is even worse.” Graft is so rampant, the nation’s widely respected anti-corruption czar, John Githongo, quit in frustration in February and the US and German governments suspended $10m aid in protest.

Western observers are concerned that Kibaki’s government is displaying some of the same bad habits seen during the administration of President Daniel Arap Moi and appears unable or unwilling to address problems. “We got suckered in just like everyone else,” said one Western diplomat who spoke on the condition of anonymity. “Some of the corruption began before this administration came into power, but the Kibaki folks slid right into the transactions and demanded their cut.”

A deepening fracture in Kibaki’s fragile coalition government has crippled parliament and delayed the constitution, spurring a leading coalition partner to call for mass anti-government protests. To shore up his power, Kibaki turned to one of the previous government’s most controversial power brokers, Nicholas Biwott, whose record and past dealings are so questionable that the US refused to issue him a visa last year.

Kenya’s leading newspapers run banner headlines daily about the latest government scandals, perpetuating the perception that even under the new government Kenya’s rich and powerful continue to live by their own set of rules.

—Dawn/LAT-WP News Service