Research: Kenyans praise State efforts to fight graft, call for more action

More than half of Kenyans feel the Government is on the right track in war against corruption.

However, they are demanding more convictions and seizure of ill-gotten wealth, according to a new poll by Infotrack.

At least 48 per cent of Kenyans want to see more action being taken by reclaiming stolen assets and punishing corrupt individuals.

It shows one in 10 Kenyans perceive the ongoing fight against corruption as mere PR, an argument based on lack of high profile convictions.

Though 52 per cent of the citizens feel a lot is being done to rid the country of the vice, 11 per cent feel there is too much talk and less action.

Another 19 per cent want to see high profile convictions to believe the Government is punishing corruption. At least 43 per cent of Kenyans feel that little is being done to fight corruption.

Those who think the Government is doing enough to fight corruption attribute their judgement to regular arrests of corrupt people.

Another 42 per cent said there was prosecution of corrupt high profile individuals. Some 21 per cent think there is a good working relationship between the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) and the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI).

“One of the reasons 43 per cent of people don’t think anything is being done in fighting corruption is that some corruption cases have been pending before courts, some going up to five or 10 years,” said Angela Ambitho, Infotrack Research and Consulting Director.

Corrupt individuals

She added: “Most of these corrupt individuals hide under politics and only the small fish are convicted while the big ones are allowed to walk freely.”

A survey on performance of governance institutions was also conducted. The top rated institutions include the ODPP, the DCI and the Judiciary.

At least 49 per cent feel the ODPP is doing a good job, 41 per cent are of the opinion the DCI, under the guidance of George Kinoti, is on the right track while 40 per cent of the respondents approved the Judiciary.

“Kenyans are seeing efforts of the DPP and probably he just needs more support to do better,” said Ambitho.

However, the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) is doing poorly with only 28 per cent of Kenyans saying it is on the right track.

Ambitho said many Kenyans questioned the role of EACC in fighting corruption, describing it as a toothless bulldog.

The bottom rated institutions in the war on graft were the National Assembly, the Senate, the National Police Service (excluding the DCI) and the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).

According to the survey, 59 per cent said the National Assembly is doing a poor job. Another 55 and 50 per cent said the Senate and the IEBC respectively are not helping in the fight against graft. About 22 per cent of Kenyans have faith in the police.

Only 28 per cent of Kenyans feel the President and his Cabinet are doing a good job, while 43 per cent rated them as average.

“Could this be linked to the fact the cost of living is hurting most Kenyans, perhaps?” Ambitho said yesterday.