This archive report was first published on 12 July 2019.
Kenya: Government Failing to Halt Upsurge in Corruption ¶
Published on July 12, 2019
Large majorities of Kenyans believe that corruption is worsening and that the government is failing to halt the upsurge, according to a new survey by Transparency International.
Two-thirds of Kenyans polled by Transparency International perceive corruption as having increased in the previous 12 months, while an even larger share -- 71 percent -- say the government is not responding adequately to this spreading scourge.
Transparency International found that growing numbers of Kenyans who use public services complain that they have to pay bribes, with 45 percent of surveyed Kenyans reporting incidents of bribery in the previous 12 months, compared to 37 percent in 2015.
Kenyan police were cited as the leading recipients of bribes, with increasing percentages of citizens saying they also had to make illicit payoffs to public schools, utilities and public clinics.
Commenting on the report's findings, Transparency International's Kenya programmes manager Sheila Masinde pointed to "a pervading culture of impunity among the political and economic elite."
"Evading punishment for misdeeds is the very foundation upon which systems that embolden and facilitate the corrupt are built," Ms Masinde added. "And if impunity is not demolished, all efforts to bring an end to corruption are in vain."
"Responsible institutions must ensure that all cases of corruption are thoroughly investigated, prosecuted and sanctioned, with no exceptions," she said.
