Police the most corrupt department – EACC survey shows

This is according to a new survey released by the Ethic and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) that shows that corruption is one of the top-three key concerns in the country, after unemployment and poverty.

Corruption in the counties remains prevalent, with Narok county recording the highest average bribe of over 42 thousand shillings.

The survey featured 5,847 households in the year 2021 across the 47 counties. 

Kenyans expressed their deepest concern as being unemployment at 56 percent, followed by poverty at 48 percent and corruption at 43.7 percent.

The survey shows that of the government services, a Kenyan was most likely to encounter corruption while seeking medical services at 27.8 percent, followed by the application for or collection of a national identity card at 14.8 percent.

74 out of 100 Kenyans perceive that corruption is widespread in Kenya, with most of them of the view that corruption is on the rise. 42 percent believe that the interior ministry leads in corruption.

The Kenya Police continues to attract negative perception with 82.1 percent citing it among top agencies where one is likely to encounter corruption and unethical practices. The police are followed by Department of Registration of Persons at just over 25 percent and 17.3 per cent at the immigration department.

In terms of ministries or departments, the Health ministry leads with corruption perception at 18.8 per cent.

The EACC survey lists various vices prominent in service delivery centers. Bribery was cited by half of the respondents, 22 percent cited favoritism, followed closely by delays in service provision.

The national average bribe has risen from 3,800 in 2018, to 5,889. It is highest in Narok County at over 42 thousand shillings, then Mombasa at 23 thousand shillings.

The bribe gets higher when reviewed by service. Accessing a land title in Narok County is the most expensive in the country, at a 201 thousand shilling bribe. To secure employment in mandera, a job seeker may need up to 142 thousand shillings, while to corruptly bail out an arrested person will cost one a bribe of up to 93,500 shillings in Nairobi.

45.9 percent of respondents reported witnessing unethical practices. A paltry 3.4 per cent of them reported the practices to relevant authorities.

For those that did not report, they cited fear of victimization as the key reason for failure to report. 57.1 per cent cited long distance to reporting centres, while 56 per cent cited the reporting process as long and complex.

And as for the counties, Narok County leads with prevalence of corruption, followed by Elgeyo Marakwet county. Nakuru county is third at 29.3 per cent.

EACC has recommended that ministries and governement departments at both the national and county governments to come up with measures to prevent against corruption especially in offices most prone to corruption.