Inspiring a tactical shift against corruption in Kenya

Inuka Direct reflects on its work in relation to the UNODC Youth Workshop held in December 2018.

Under the auspices of United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Inuka Direct took part in the National Workshop on Good Governance, Integrity and Anti-corruption, which was held in December at the United Nations headquarters in Nairobi. Over 200 young people drawn from 47 counties converged to create an outcome document geared towards fighting graft through four working groups of health, urban crime, health and education. Inuka Direct’s tactics against crime will be through the prism of sport.

Transnational Organised Crime as witnessed with the vulnerabilities of the FIFA Transfer Matching system (TMS), can give leeway to rogue agents to practice human trafficking. Collaborations with airline firms and immigration authorities are synergies sports federations need to explore to effectively combat human trafficking. For instance, strengthening their judicial systems which alleviate cases of ineligible athletes participating in international championships. Through the Footworks programme, Inuka Direct organised a sports law talk in 2017, to sensitise officials on transfer issues and the need to equip them with sufficient information that will help them evade the tackles of transfer malpractices.

The health pillar, viewed from a sporting perspective, brings out the relationship between investor confidence and corruption. Withdrawn sponsorships and endorsement deals have been partly attributed to increased doping incidences amid Kenya being under the World Ant-doping Agency watch list. Sports professionals are important in young athletes’ lives but their absence contributes to unhealthy dietary choices, career-threatening injuries and weak emotional intelligence. This emerges when resources allocated to sports programmes are misused. In 2016, Inuka Direct, together with volunteer consultants, organised sports nutrition and sports psychology sessions for grassroots teams in Nairobi, while in 2017, we joined forces with the Anti-doping Agency of Kenya to sensitise grassroots football officials and young players on the importance of practicing clean sport.

When young people don’t access relevant financial information, they are at risk of engaging in drugs and crime due to peer pressure leading to poor spending behaviours, a driver to high debt among the youth. A football-themed financial education initiative that will empower young people to make informed money decisions will be rolled out soon.

While the outcome document will go a long way in influencing key policy decisions against corruption, Inuka Direct’s efforts demonstrate that sport can inspire communities to proactively take their own initiative to secure a corruption-free Kenya.