• Report touted as an indictment to public service institutions
• Researchers want lifestyle audit for private sector players.
Image: FILE
Some 92.6 per cent of Kenyans perceive public service as corrupt.
Public officers themselves, at least 85 per cent, acknowledged there is rampant corruption in the national and county governments.
State agencies tasked with graft fight — the EACC, the DCI, and the DPP — have in their daily reports exuded the confidence they are winning the graft war.
However, a report by the National Crime Research Centre has exposed the alarming levels to which graft has penetrated in the public service.
Sixty three per cent of Kenyans believe there is corruption at the devolved units, with the county executive leading at 77.7 per cent and county assembly at 75.5 per cent.
The Executive arm of the national government has the highest perception index at 80.4 per cent. The Senate was rated the least corrupt at 51.8 per cent.
However, a large proportion of public officials at 50.4 per cent more than members of the public at 28 per cent believe there is corruption at the Senate.
More than 50 per cent of Kenyans perceived corruption to be high in all the arms of government.
In what may be an indictment to the county governments, perception of existence of corruption was highest in Governor Cyprian Awiti’s Homa Bay administration at 96 per cent, followed by John Nyagarama’s Nyamira at 95.9 per cent.
At least 93 per cent of Samburu residents believe corruption is rife at the county executive; Siaya at 91.9 per cent; and Migori at 91.5 per cent.
More Kisii residents, at 89.8 per cent, perceive corruption in Governor James Ongwae’s administration; Sospeter Ojaamong’s Busia 89.7 per cent; and Stanley Kiptis’ Baringo at 89.4 per cent.
At least 89.4 per cent believe there is corruption in Machakos; Tana River 88.4 per cent; Nyandarua 85.9 per cent; Tharaka Nithi 85.7 per cent; Nairobi 85.6 per cent; and Bungoma 85.5 per cent. The rest ranged between 61 and 84 per cent.
Counties with the least perception are Salim Mvurya’s Kwale administration at 47 per cent and John Lonyangapuo’s West Pokot at 52.1 per cent.
In terms of perceptions on whether corruption exists in public service institutions, 99.4 per cent of Vihiga residents said they believed so.
Siaya residents, 99.2 per cent, equally said they knew there is corruption in the public service followed by Kilifi (98.2); Homa Bay (97.3); Kisii (97); Makueni (96); Murang’a (96.4); Kajiado (95.9); Migori (95.9); and Nairobi (95.8).
Isiolo reported the lowest perception at 63 per cent with the rest above 74 per cent, details provided by key informants.
“Yes there is corruption. There is a perception that there is no service you can offer that is free, everybody is corrupt,” one of the informants said.
“People in the public service institutions implicitly ask for favours, creating obstacles for someone to smoothen an outcome,” one of the key informants added.
Another informant is quoted saying; “There is real corruption. You can’t talk of it sometimes but it is there, and a lot of it. For example, in getting employment, advertising tenders, people, give out money to benefit in one way or the other.”
The National Crime Research Centre said the findings are an indictment to the public service institutions.
In the report before Parliament, the centre called for elaborate anti-corruption strategies to change the perception.
The researchers thus recommend that the EACC works with Central Bank of Kenya and connected agencies to conduct regular vetting and impromptu wealth and lifestyle audits of all public officials.
NCRC wants the audit to focus on middle to senior cadre level male officials working as police officers, national government administration offices; procurement staff, MCAs and governors.
They also called on the EACC to work with NIS, DCI, CBK, KBA, and KRA to sanitise records of companies doing business with government.
The centre, domiciled under the Attorney General's office, wants the review to cite the location of the companies; their financial transactions; and true identities of their owners.
“They should undertake identification, profiling, trailing of wealth accumulation, investment portfolios and lifestyles of non-public official perpetrators of corruption,” the report recommends.
Parliament has been asked to enact laws for lifestyle audit, income tax and wealth declaration by all Kenyans as well as laws which put the burden of proof on the accused rather than the prosecution.
NCRC further wants persons who fail leadership and integrity test not only barred from holding office but also from conducting business with any public institution.
It also asked the EACC to map county specific public institutions where corruption is most prevalent and instigate anti-corruption strategies.
A total of 8,627 members of the public were interviewed being 4,907 males and 3,720 females.
Bribery — soliciting or receiving bribes —, misuse of public resources; abuse of power or office; dishonesty by public officials; and giving out public resources in exchange for gifts were noted as the rampant cases.
Injustices against citizens; influencing for service; violation of the law; tribalism; use of public office for selfish interests; denying regions development; vote rigging among others were also cited.
The National Police Service was voted the most corrupt, especially the traffic police and police at border entry points in the study conducted by Stephen Muteti, Kenneth Bundi, and John Kariuki.
After county governments is the Health ministry followed by its Lands counterpart; judiciary; and Interior ministry.
The report revealed that Kenyans are accosted with corruption when seeking services such as registration of persons; hospital; lands registration; employment; police services; and bursaries.
Persons seeking bursaries, recruitment into public service, medical services, and registration are the targets of the graft lords.
MPs were not spared either in the study which revealed that they have issues of embezzlement; ghost projects; bribery; nepotism; abuse of office and discrimination in service delivery.
Majority of the respondents — members of the public and public officials — conceded that corruption has involvement of at least two public officials and a non-public official.
“The root causes of corruption featuring in at least a third of the counties were greed, poverty, low wages and poor management,” the report reads.
The research further indicted Kenyans for failing to report corruption incidents citing reasons as ‘nothing will happen’; ‘fear of victimisation’; some people don’t know where to report; corruption is almost normal; and no confidence in reporting.
Attorney General Kihara Kariuki, on the findings, said persons in the public service have a duty to serve the greater good and play role in war on graft.
“All of us, all persons, all arms of government; united, together, as citizens and stakeholders in various sectors of this great nation, have the ability to take down corruption once and for all,” he said in his notes on the study report.
Edited by EKibii