(For other news from the Africa Investment Summit, click http://www.reuters.com/summit/AfricaInvestmentSummit11)
* Political will to fight graft not sufficient
* Corruption sparked protests in Arab world
* Graft has squeezed investment, GDP
By James Macharia
NAIROBI, March 7 (Reuters) - The political will to fight corruption in Kenya is below par and the east African country risks Egypt-like protests because graft is choking investment and jobs, the nation's anti-corruption czar said on Monday.
Patrick Lumumba, director of the Kenya Anti Corruption Commission (KACC), said that across Africa, people now recognised graft was gobbling up employment opportunities at a time when the political class was getting richer -- and this could provoke the kind of mass protests that toppled governments in Tunisia and Egypt.
"The single factor that led to the Arab revolution ... is corruption," Lumumba told the Reuters Africa Investment Summit.
"The ogre of corruption is consuming that which belongs to the people of Kenya," he said.
Lumumba, a lawyer, said Kenya's leadership did not have a zero tolerance for corruption, unlike other countries in the region such as Rwanda where senior government officials accused of graft are removed from public office.
"The political will in Kenya in a manner that I would love, sustained and resolute, is not to the level that I would expect," Lumumba said.
"We have perfected the art of telling on camera that which is nice to hear, but immediately we recede into the inner sanctums of power we connive and go to bed with the corrupt and that is the tragedy of African double speak."
Analysts say graft has choked growth in Kenya, deterring potential investors. There is growing frustration that senior officials get away with flagrant theft, which has tarnished Kenya's image.
LIP SERVICE
"The single thing that affects this country in a most drastic way is individuals who have perfected the art of reaping where they have not sown, and privatising public wealth to the detriment of the people of this country," he said.
"It is a tragedy of gigantic proportions which requires resolute sustained political commitment, not lip service."
Lumumba, in office for six months, said conservative estimates showed corruption takes up to 35 percent of Kenya's gross domestic product, or up to 55 percent if you include wastage -- and a third of the country's procurement budget.
The World Bank has estimated widespread corruption can knock 0.5 to 1 percentage points off a nation's growth rate.
Kenya ranked 154th out of 178 in Transparency International's 2010 corruption perceptions index.
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The graft watchdog is probing several government departments and state agencies, but the health department was notorious for importation of low quality medicine at inflated prices, he said.
He said some officials were also out to make money by taking advantage of the drought that has ravaged the country.
"When there is drought, the mandarins will use this occasion to import maize and wheat and other grains and make money to the detriment of the populace," he said.
DEATH THREATS
President Mwai Kibaki came to power in 2002 on an anti-graft platform, but while Kenyan media have exposed corruption in his government, no minister has yet been convicted of graft.
Suspended Higher Education Minister William Ruto and former Industrialisation Minister Henry Kosgey have been charged with corruption under Lumumba's renewed fight against endemic graft, while their foreign affairs counterpart Moses Wetangula was also forced out of office over corruption claims. [ID:nLDE70302R]
One of Lumumba's immediate tasks is waging war on corrupt government officials before a 2012 election to prevent a repeat of major financial scams that have bankrolled past campaigns.
"If you look at the history of the mega scandals in this country ... it has always been in the years preceding election. I've already raised the alarm," he said.
Lumumba said his organisation was working with one hand tied behind its back because it lacks prosecutorial powers, while its skeletal staff of 275 was inadequate. Similar organisations in Tanzania and Uganda have 1,500, and 600 staff respectively.
Despite this, and death threats, Lumumba said he had taken a personal decision to put his life on the line for his country, rather than pursuing a lucrative legal practice.
"I have received many (threats) but I don't care about them. I believe that I am protected by God ... you must soldier on." (Editing by David Clarke)
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