Police officers, Kenya Revenue Authority officials, and chiefs are some of the professional groups most involved in unethical conduct, according to the National Ethics and Corruption Survey 2024.

Released on Tuesday, August 8, the report was compiled by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) after interviewing over 6,000 respondents nationwide between August and October 2024.

It found that police officers topped the list at 27.6 per cent, followed by KRA officials at 17.3 per cent, chiefs at 16.2 per cent, county inspectorate officers at 14.6 per cent, county revenue officers at 13.4 per cent, lawyers at 14.1 per cent, and land surveyors at 13.3 per cent.

The Ministry of Interior and National Administration was ranked as the most corrupt institution at 47.8 per cent, as Kenyans who interacted with it reported experiencing or witnessing unethical conduct.

The Ministry of Health ranked second at 19.7 per cent, while the National Treasury followed at 5.8 per cent. Other institutions mentioned include the Ministry of Lands at 5.6 per cent, the Ministry of Transport at 3.9 per cent, and the Ministry of Education at 2.6 per cent.

According to the report, the most common forms of corruption respondents encountered in public offices include giving bribes, receiving bribes, favoritism, and abuse of office.

Other forms include tribalism, nepotism, and embezzlement of public funds. Moreover, it was found that bribes were demanded as the only way to access services such as obtaining a tender, TSC placement, resolving land matters, or securing government employment.

Kenyans in the report identified unemployment as the major national problem, ranked at 49.1 per cent. Corruption ranked second at 44.6 per cent, while poverty and high cost of living ranked third and fourth at 32.3 per cent and 29.9 per cent, respectively.

Other problems include inadequate health care at 17.4 per cent, poor infrastructure at 12.4 per cent, poor leadership at 11.8 per cent, insecurity at 9.4 per cent, and inadequate education facilities at 5.5 per cent.

The trends in bribery were also recorded in the report, as the number of citizens asked to pay bribes increased significantly to 25.4 per cent in 2024 from 17.7 per cent in 2023.

Among respondents interviewed, those who sought services and actually paid bribes stood at 17.1 per cent, while those who paid a bribe because it was demanded stood at 43.3 per cent.

Twenty-three point three per cent indicated that paying a bribe was the only way to access a service; 18 per cent paid a bribe to avoid delay in service.

The majority of those who paid the bribe (72.5 per cent) were dissatisfied with the public services they received, while 20.7 per cent said they were satisfied.

– By Anthony Mwangi