Act firmly on graft

Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission chairman Eliud Wabukala. (Jonah Onyango/Standard)

The latest Transparency International rankings place Kenya at position 145 out of 176, down from position 139 in 2015, on the Corruption Perceptions Index. Lower-ranked countries are generally graded based on the incompetency of, particularly, the police and the Judiciary. Where the two institutions charged with handling human rights fail to deliver, a country gets lower scores.

A corrupt civil service soliciting bribes from the public in exchange for services, and general lethargy in the Government in fighting the vice further put a blot on a country’s record.

Equally important is the level of freedom the Government allows members of the Fourth Estate and citizens to gain access to information. The integrity of public officials plays a key role in giving a country better rankings yet in all regards, Kenya has failed to measure up.

Corruption and bribery are the order of the day even as police continue human rights violations and the Judiciary fails to exert its independence and acquit itself by fighting corruption. The report could not have come at a more opportune time. It points new Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission chairman Eliud Wabukala to the key areas that call for immediate attention. More needs to be done to improve our rankings.