Kenyans believe Uhuru won’t win war on graft

President Uhuru Kenyatta at a past function. Majority of Kenyans believe he won’t win war on corruption.

Majority of Kenyans believe that President Uhuru Kenyatta will not succeed in the war against corruption.

The fight against plunder of public funds has lately gained momentum, with the President stating that no one will be spared in the graft purge.

But an opinion poll by Sauti Za Wananchi painted a different picture, with 82 per cent of Kenyans saying he will not succeed.

According to the poll, eight out of 10 Kenyans lack confidence in the Head of State’s ability to reign in graft lords in his last term in office on account that a majority of his government officials are corrupt and it will be hard to change the culture.

Asked for a bribe

“They think that a  majority of government officials are corrupt, that Kenya has been corrupt for a long time and will not change easily, and that it is people who are close to the President who are engaged in corruption, making it difficult to end the vice,” the report indicated.

Seventy one per cent of Kenyans however approve of the President’s performance and believe he is the right person to steer the country. His deputy is second with 54 per cent performance rating, followed by former Prime Minister Raila Odinga at 48 per cent.

The data was collected from 1,607 respondents from Kenya’s Sauti za Wananchi panel in the 22 round of calls conducted between September 27 and November 2, 2018. 

Two out of 10 Kenyans admitted to having been asked for a bribe in the past year, while the National Youth Service (NYS) scandal is the most famous corruption case in the country.

Senators are the least performers according to the poll at 44 per cent, followed by chief executive officers (46 per cent) and county governments (51 per cent).

Seventy one per cent of Kenyans approved of the handshake between President Kenyatta and Raila, saying it has brought peace and stability which is now contributing to the country’s development.

“Seven out of 10 citizens approve of the symbolic handshake between Uhuru and Raila, while six out of 10 (59 per cent) approve of the Building Bridges Initiative started by the two leaders,” the report revealed.

The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions is rated as the best performing institution at 66 per cent, especially in relation to the fight against corruption, followed by the Judiciary at 62 per cent, the National Cohesion and Integration Commission (53 per cent) and Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission at 52 per cent.

Among non-state institutions, the media remains the most trusted in public debate and accountability at 87 per cent, followed by religious leaders (82 per cent), non-governmental organisations (75 per cent) and human rights organisations at 73 per cent.