Report ranks Kenya's corruption fight among the worst globally

Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission offiices in Nairobi. [File, Standard] A new report ranks Kenya's corruption fight among the worst globally, with the country scoring 30 out of 100 in the 2025 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) released on Tuesday. The drop from 32 points last year places Kenya 130th out of 182 countries, as withdrawal of high-profile cases and weak prosecution allow graft to flourish across government, Transparency International (TI) found. The decline comes two months after the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) reported recovering 3.4 billion shillings out of 22.9 billion shillings in suspected graft proceeds traced in the financial year ending June 2025, whilst preventing potential losses of 16.5 billion shillings through proactive investigations. However, the pattern of case withdrawals has undermined these gains. In September 2025, the High Court overturned the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions' (ODPP) decision to drop corruption charges against Cooperatives Cabinet Secretary Wycliffe Oparanya, who faced allegations of receiving over 56.7 million shillings during his tenure as Kakamega governor. Justice Benjamin Musyoki ruled that the ODPP acted outside the Constitution by withdrawing charges without consulting EACC, which had investigated the case and recommended prosecution for conflict of interest, abuse of office, conspiracy to commit corruption and money laundering. "Kenya's latest score indicates that corruption is no longer a series of isolated incidents; it has evolved into a sophisticated, resilient system that has permeated all levels of society and government, undermining democracy, the rule of law, good governance, transparency and accountability," said Sheila Masinde, executive director of Transparency International Kenya (TI-Kenya). The country's score has oscillated between 25 and 33 over the past 13 years despite several legislative and institutional reforms, indicating persistent stagnation in the fight against corruption. Kenya ranked eight positions lower than in 2024, when the country placed 122nd globally. The index ranks countries by perceived public sector corruption from zero (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean). In East Africa, Rwanda led with 58 points, followed by Tanzania (40), Uganda (25) and Burundi (17). Sub-Saharan Africa remained the lowest-performing region globally with an average score of 32 out of 100. Masinde attributed Kenya's poor performance to a few high-profile convictions coupled with a pattern of case withdrawals and weak prosecution that have allowed offenders to escape punishment, perpetuating impunity. Former Kiambu Governor Ferdinand Waititu, convicted in February 2025 in a 588 million shillings corruption case, has lost multiple attempts to overturn his 12-year prison sentence. In September 2025, Justice Lucy Njuguna dismissed his application to reduce the sentence, ordering the appeal be concluded within 120 days. However, such convictions remain rare. EACC data shows that whilst the commission processed 4,183 corruption reports and conducted 14 proactive investigations in the 2024/2025 financial year, few cases resulted in convictions. "With few high-profile convictions secured for corruption cases coupled by the disturbing pattern of withdrawal of cases witnessed in Kenya and weak prosecution of cases, many offenders have escaped punishment, thus perpetuating impunity," said Masinde. She called for full execution of mandates by all criminal justice and oversight institutions mandated to deal with corruption, particularly strict enforcement of leadership and integrity provisions to ensure only individuals meeting constitutional standards occupy public office. "This may deal with the deep-seated challenges of lack of political will to tackle corruption, individuals who abuse public office to profiteer from public coffers and political interference in institutional mandates," said Masinde. EACC Chairperson David Oginde, whilst launching the commission's annual report in December 2025, warned that weak enforcement of Chapter Six on leadership and integrity, witness interference and institutional silos threatened Kenya's anti-graft fight despite the commission's record gains. Ten countries in Sub-Saharan Africa have deteriorated since 2012, while only seven have improved during the same period. Only four of 49 countries in the region scored above 50: Seychelles (68), Cabo Verde (62), Botswana (58) and Rwanda (58). TI-Kenya called for the protection of civic space and whistleblowers, the adoption of comprehensive whistleblower protection laws, strengthening of digital transparency systems, adequate funding for anti-corruption institutions and strict enforcement of leadership provisions ahead of the 2027 general elections. Denmark topped the index for the eighth consecutive year with 89 points, followed by Finland (88) and Singapore (84). The global average score dropped to 42 out of 100, its lowest level in over a decade.

Report ranks Kenya's corruption fight among the worst globally

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