In January 2016, the Kenyan government announced that the country was at war with its mafia-like
criminal cartels, run by politicians and business people.
According to Kenya’s chief justice, “Eighty percent of the country’s political leaders
are not fit to hold office”, and corruption is at an all-time high.
So, we wanted to know, just how corrupt is Kenya?
Well, Kenya has dealt with corruption since its first president, Jomo Kenyatta, took office
in 1964.
At the time, the country had just gained independence from Britain, and European settlers had left
much of Kenya’s land unclaimed.
Kenyatta became massively wealthy by purchasing most of this land while it was cheap and later
profiting off business ventures on that land.
Many Kenyans still credit Kenyatta’s regime for creating a culture of wealth accumulation
by way of corruption among public officials.
A half-century later, Kenya is still dealing with corruption in the public sector.
Many of Kenya’s politicians and public officials are allegedly tied to organized crime gangs,
and profit from migrant trafficking, weapons, drugs, and counterfeiting.
Additionally, an official audit in 2015 showed that only one percent of Kenya’s $16 billion
dollar budget was used lawfully, and roughly a quarter of that budget had gone missing
altogether.
Much of Kenya’s government corruption is a result of bribes, which are generally small
but paid frequently.
The average urban Kenyan pays 16 bribes per month, typically to policemen or bureaucrats.
In fact, Kenyans say that roughly two out of three of their interactions with public
officials result in a bribe or a negative consequence if they decline to bribe.
Kenya’s police force is by far the most corrupt of any private or public institution.
Police allegedly collect most of their bribes from routine traffic stops.
It is not uncommon for higher-ups in law enforcement to give their officers a minimum quota for
bribes, as much of the smuggled money ends up in the hands of police chiefs rather than
officers.
Kenyan police are particularly susceptible to bribes because they are very poorly paid.
And despite efforts to tackle the issue, corruption has only gotten worse since the current president
took office in 2013.
In just one year, Kenya dropped nine spots in the Corruption Perception Index, bringing
it alongside countries like Bangladesh and Guinea.
Kenya’s president has repeatedly promised to combat government fraud, however his own
administration has been called the most corrupt in the country’s history.
But efforts ARE being made to combat that corruption.
In 2015, the United States pledged more than $1 million dollars to set up an investigative
unit to uncover government fraud.
Anti-corruption campaigns are now taught in public schools and broadcasted over the radio,
and Kenyan artists have taken their frustrations to the streets with anti-corruption graffiti
and murals.
Still, there is considerable work to be done.
According to Kenya’s Chief Justice, the “connection between cartels and politicians
must be broken” before the country sees any lasting improvement.
But while Kenya struggles with corruption, it also holds a valuable spot within the African
Union.
To learn about how powerful Kenya really is, check out our video.
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