Political inertia, corruption stall Kenya's disaster response

Mwongera Mutiga, Executive Director, Oxfam Kenya. [Juliet Omelo, standard]

Despite billions of shillings in international aid and domestic disaster funds, Kenya’s humanitarian response continues to falter, repeatedly leaving communities in drought- and flood-prone areas exposed and unsupported.

New findings from Oxfam, the Overseas Development Institute (ODI) and the Institute of Public Finance (IPF) show that corruption, political inertia, and deep-rooted structural inequalities, not a shortage of funds, are the main drivers of the country’s recurring emergency failures.

The ODI report, Governing Inequality: Kenya’s State, Aid Politics and Perpetual Humanitarian Crisis, reveals that in 2024 alone, Kenya lost over Sh288 billion to corruption and illicit financial flows, roughly four times higher than the Sh64 billion received in international humanitarian aid that year.

Over the last 14 years, the majority of this aid, about 92 per cent, went to international agencies, while Kenyan organisations received no more than three per cent directly.

This imbalance is further reflected in programme spending, with the World Food Programme injecting Sh27.8 billion into Kenya, almost six times more than the government’s Hunger Safety Net Programme, which operated on only Sh4.8 billion.

“These figures reveal the structural mismatch between available resources and actual delivery to communities in need. The funding exists, but the political will and accountability mechanisms to release it effectively are missing,’’ said Bessyie Nikahozi, social protection lead at Oxfam in Kenya.   

Lead researcher for ODI, Dustin Barter at the Kenya humanitarian crisis report launch. [Juliet Omelo, Standard]

Her remarks echo the systemic delays outlined in IPF’s analysis, Towards Locally Led Humanitarian Action, which shows that although most counties have established disaster and climate funds as required by law, these funds are irregularly financed, poorly monitored, and frequently delayed.

According to Nikahozi, emergency allocations are often activated only after a political declaration of disaster, and even then, significant portions end up financing bureaucratic planning meetings rather than reaching people in urgent need. She noted that “in a real emergency, every second counts,” yet Kenya’s systems remain slow, politicised, and ineffective.

Oversight failures at the county level compound the challenge, as assemblies often struggle to hold local executives accountable for how disaster and climate funds are used.

‘’ As a result, even when money is available, there is no guarantee it will reach the communities most affected by droughts, floods, or conflict,’’ said Timothy Kiprono, project officer, participatory governance and climate finance at the Institute of Public Finance.

Historical marginalisation adds another layer of vulnerability. Arid and semi-arid counties, which already lag in investment, infrastructure, and public services, face the harshest impacts of climate shocks that now strike with increasing frequency.

Even so, localisation efforts are showing promise. Oxfam channels up to 80 per cent of its humanitarian funding through local organisations, primarily via the ASAL Humanitarian Network, a coalition of more than 30 grassroots groups working across Kenya’s arid regions.

“Local actors have proven they can manage disaster response effectively. They just need the resources and political support to operate at scale,’’ Kiprono said.

According to ODI and IPF, fixing Kenya’s humanitarian crisis requires more than short-term aid.

Their recommendations include curbing corruption and illicit financial flows to ensure disaster money reaches intended communities, strengthening oversight to allow citizens and civil society to track spending, empowering local institutions through predictable financing, and addressing persistent structural inequalities that leave ASAL regions chronically exposed.

“Kenya has the systems and the money. What it lacks is political will and mechanisms to ensure that resources are deployed effectively and equitably. Until that changes, humanitarian crises will continue to repeat themselves, said Dustin Barter, senior researcher at ODI.

As climate change accelerates the severity and frequency of droughts and floods, analysts warn that Kenya can no longer afford to rely on international aid as a default response.

They emphasise that ending the cycle of preventable suffering will require political courage, transparent governance, and sustained support for local actors, choices that determine not only how Kenya responds to emergencies today, but whether it can prevent them tomorrow.