Kenya’s quest for a corruption-free society appears to be a dream that will not be fulfilled any time soon.
Despite the country having many laws, experts say the leaders of institutions tasked with fighting the vice and politicians are the weakest links.
Last Wednesday, President William Ruto assented to the Conflict of Interest Bill in the latest effort to fight corruption.
During founding President Mzee Jomo Kenyatta's 15-year tenure, Kenya experienced widespread corruption. There was impunity in the civil service and public procurement processes.
After Daniel Toroitich arap Moi took over when Mzee Kenyatta died in August 1978, the wave of corruption worsened.
The epitome of the rot during Moi’s regime was the Goldenberg scandal in the 1990s in which the country lost billions of shillings through payments for fictitious gold exports.
And when Mwai Kibaki took over as president in 2002, corruption scandals did not stop. His administration was tainted by the Anglo Leasing scandal.
Next was the turn of Uhuru Kenyatta, who became president in 2013 and held the position until 2022. His government was plagued by corruption, particularly involving mega infrastructural projects.
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Bobby Mkangi, who was a member of the defunct Committee of Experts that wrote the current Constitution, said that the laws are not the problem.
“We are sort of okay up to the point where the office of Auditor-General gives a report but weak when it comes to the consequences thereof,” Mkangi, a lawyer, said. “It is not the laws that are the problem, but the consumers and the enforcers.”
However, he is of the view that it is not utopian to believe that the political class and public servants play a primary role in wrestling corruption.
Integrity Centre in Nairobi which houses the Ethics and Anti Corruption Commission offices.
Photo credit: Pool I Nation Media Group
He singled out the 26th US President Theodore Teddy Roosevelt who fought against robber barons at the beginning of the 20th century as well as Lee Kuan Yew, the former Prime Minister of Singapore and his commitment to building of a corruption-free country.
“Political servants who are committed to the rule of law can recapture and deconstruct the corrupted State as we erect a new one built upon the integrity of our Constitution,” says Mkangi.
Before he was appointed the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) chairman, Bishop David Oginde had said that, “we are a corrupt nation.”
During his vetting for the job on April 5, 2023, he told the National Assembly Justice and Legal Affairs Committee that to deal with corruption, cases involving the high and mighty should be treated like election petitions. He said that they should have a six-month timeline for resolution.
“When we see seriousness at the top, people from the lower levels will also shun corruption. I propose that we come up with legislation so that we can deal with these cases within three months,” said Bishop Oginde.
But despite the rhetoric, Kenya’s post-colonial governments have done little to implement significant measures to curb corruption.Over the years, many laws with punitive consequences have been enacted. But nothing much has changed.
Some of the laws made in the last two decades are; the Anti-Corruption and Economic Crimes Act (Aceca) of 2003, Bribery Act of 2016, Prevention of Corruption Act (Poca) 2012 and the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) Act. Aceca first established the Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission (before the name was changed to EACC).
Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission Chairman Bishop David Oginde at Integrity Centre in Nairobi on March 27, 2024.
Photo credit: Bonface Bogita | Nation Media Group
Others are; the Proceeds of Crime and Anti-Money Laundering Act (Pocamla) 2009, the Leadership and Integrity Act and the most recent — the Conflict of Interest Act.
The Proceeds of Crime and Anti-Money Laundering Act established the Assets Recovery Agency, which is mandated to flag, confiscate and recover the proceeds of corruption.
The Bribery Act defines corruption as the giving or receiving a financial or other advantage to improperly influence the performance of a function or activity.
Although the anti-corruption agency came up with a requirement that wealth declaration forms be filled by individuals seeking public offices, its contents are never made public.
During his tenure, Kibaki established the National Anti-Corruption Campaign Steering Committee. The multi-sectoral committee was to oversee anti-corruption awareness campaigns across the country in Kibaki’s push for “zero tolerance to corruption.”
However, despite all the laws and the institutions, corruption continues to thrive.
When the Constitution was promulgated on August 27, 2010 — with an elaborate Chapter Six on the Leadership and Integrity — the main aim was to ensure that only untainted individuals hold public office. But this was watered down after Parliament diluted the Leadership and Integrity Act.
In a bid to tame corruption during his tenure, Kenyatta sought to tighten the procurement laws as he put in place an e-procurement system. At one point, he sent all procurement officers in government on forced leave as a means to deal with corruption.
On July 30, 2025, Dr Ruto signed the Conflict of Interest law that bars State officers from government contracts.
But immediate former Speaker of the National Assembly Justin Muturi said the laws mean nothing without political goodwill.
“I would like to be forthright in stating that fish rots from the head. Any initiative to fight corruption must start at the top, and political goodwill be demonstrated,” Muturi, who is also the immediate Cabinet Secretary for Public Service, said.
Muturi, who was also a one-time Attorney-General under Dr Ruto during better days, said there is lack of sincerity in past and current efforts to fight corruption.
City lawyer David Ochami blames corruption on “the colonial state” which never ended despite the British leaving.
“To the extent that the colonial state survives under a different colour and configuration, no number of laws will end corruption or bring it under control,” he said.
“Corruption is a necessary ingredient, modus operandi and by-product of an oppressive system designed to protect a ruling clique by loading over the masses,” he added.
