President William Ruto termed Parliament and the Judiciary the weakest links in the fight against corruption, accusing the former of being involved in a bribe-soliciting spree instead of providing oversight.
In a scathing attack, the President said parliamentary committees have turned into “extortion rings”, demanding bribes from witnesses who appear before them in order to write favourable reports.
Speaking during the official opening of the 2025 Devolution Conference in Homa Bay, he also fingered the Judiciary for abetting graft by giving corruption suspects anticipatory bail.
President Ruto said State officers have fallen victim to the extortion by parliamentary committees and urged the Speakers of both the Senate and the National Assembly to act, saying Parliament must also be held to account going forward, just as it holds others accountable.
“Our Legislature must be called out. Something is going on in our Legislature that we must call out. There is money being demanded from the Executive, governors and ministers, especially those who go for accountability before our Houses of Parliament,” he said.
“Mr Speaker, it cannot continue to be business as usual. It is not possible that Parliament committees continue to demand to be bribed or be paid for them to write reports or to look the other way on what is happening in either the national government or the counties,” the President added.
The sentiments by the President come barely a few days after former Prime Minister Raila Odinga also called out the two arms of government for condoning corruption.
The President said the ongoing transformation in the country is being undermined by corruption, decrying how public resources meant for service delivery are rarely used for their intended purpose.
The President accused the Judiciary of giving suspects anticipatory bail, which they use to shield themselves from arrest and prosecution. He asked the Judiciary to stop being a haven for the corrupt, where suspects hide behind the law.
“We have an innovation only in Kenya that allows someone who has stolen public resources or has breached the law not to be prosecuted. This is the anticipatory bail. This is an innovation that is taking us backwards,” said the President.
“Ask yourself, someone who has stolen public money and gets this bail, making it difficult for him to be arrested and prosecuted endlessly... how that supports the fight against graft baffles me,” he added.
Dr Ruto appealed to the two institutions to join the Executive in the ongoing fight against graft in the country.
He stated that he recently signed into law The Conflict of Interest Bill and added that agencies charged with making sure there is accountability at all levels of government must now take up their role as effectively as the Constitution and the law mandates them.
“I have made it clear to the chairperson and the chief executive officer of the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission [EACC) that there will be no sacred cows or telephone calls from below or above to stop anyone from being prosecuted for corruption,” said the President.
Illustrating the gains his administration has made in the fight against corruption, the President cited how e-Citizen platform has helped in eliminating waste and enhancing efficiency since its inception in 2013. According to him, the platform has been a powerful weapon in the fight against corruption.
“By eliminating cash handling and embedding full digital audit trails, we have reduced opportunities for bribery and made transactions traceable, fair and secure. Citizens can now follow the progress of their applications and payments online, confident that the process is impartial and transparent,” he said.
High prevalence of corruption
He noted that what began with a handful of services has evolved into a 24/7 one-stop shop for over 22,000 government services, accessible anywhere in the world.
“Today, more than 14 million Kenyans are registered, with half a million logging in daily to access passports, driving licences, business registrations, land transactions, marriage certificates, police clearances and much more; all without queues, intermediaries, or unnecessary bureaucracy,” said President Ruto.
He said that collections have surged more than 1,500 per cent from Sh60 million to over Sh1 billion daily—translating to more than Sh500 billion annually. Ministries, departments and agencies, he said, have seen revenue growth of up to 400 per cent, supported by accurate projections and better planning.
The President challenged governors to ensure that resources allocated to county governments are used to transform the lives of the people.
Director of Ethics and Leadership at EACC, John Lolkoloi, said the high prevalence of corruption is becoming a barrier to the empowerment of citizens. Mr Lolkoloi said bribe payment to get services from county governments is one of the factors hindering the progress of devolution.
“It is a wakeup call for all counties to improve governance. We will work together and come up with preventive measures,” Mr Lolkoloi said.
The EACC official said some public officers in the counties have become suppliers of goods and services in their respective governments.
“Public officers who have acquired assets and not declared them will have the assets recovered,” he added.
The European Union (EU) also cited corruption as one of the major impediments of development. EU Ambassador to Kenya Henriette Geiger said that Western countries will continue to sensitise and build the capacity Kenyans to monitor the performance of their governments.
“For devolution to deliver on its promise, the government has the responsibility to transfer funds to counties. Otherwise devolution would be a toothless tiger,” Ms Geiger said.
Reporting by Rushdie Oudia, Collins Omulo and George Odiwuor
