Kenya scores 28 out of 100 in global corruption index

Kenya scored 28 out of 100 in a global corruption perception index released on Thursday.

The country was also ranked at position 137 out of 180 countries and territories that were assessed, the Corruption Perceptions Index says.

“Since 2012, Kenya has scored between 25 and 28, out of 100, having recorded a score of 27 in 2018, depicting slow progress in the fight against corruption,” the CPI statement reads.

Kenya’s score is way below the global average of 43.

According to the report, Kenya has failed to regulate funds used in campaigns despite enacting the Election Campaign Financing Act in 2013.

Parliament deferred the implementation of the legislation to the 2022 election further crippling the ability of Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to monitor and regulate money used in campaigns.

The study avers that this has made elections in Kenya among the most expensive polls in Africa, a trend that should be urgently reversed.

“Governments must urgently address the corrupting role of big money in political party financing and the undue influence it exerts on our political systems,” said Delia Ferreira Rubio, Chair of Transparency International.

The anti-corruption agency further notes that Kenya is at a critical point where the relevant arms of government tasked with the fight against corruption need to show real outcomes, to instill public confidence in the ongoing anti-corruption efforts.

The statement released on Thursday further states that convictions and recovery of assets are key indicators of success in efforts to tackle corruption.

“Following the spate of high profile arrests and arraignments in court, anti-corruption agencies should therefore bolster investigations and prosecutions that will lead to convictions and the recovery of stolen public resources,” it reads.

It adds that the recent directive by the President on conflict of interest among public officials has the potential to escalate the success in the fight against graft if followed through.

The corruption index measures the perceived levels of corruption in the public sector in countries and territories worldwide.

It draws on 13 expert assessments and surveys of business executives and uses a scale of zero (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean).

In the East African region, Rwanda is ranked highest garnering 53 points followed by Tanzania with 37, Kenya and Uganda scoring 28, Burundi with 19 and South Sudan with 12 points.

In SubSaharan Africa, Seychelles and Botswana are leading with 66 and 61 points respectively. Other countries in Africa like Ethiopia scored 37, Zambia 34, Nigeria 26, Zimbabwe 24 and the Democratic Republic of Congo 18.