A report by Transparency International (TI-Kenya) has exposed the loopholes and inconsistencies that have held the country back in its fight against corruption.

The report dubbed ‘Rubber Meets the Road: An Assessment on the Impact of Anti-Corruption Laws and Institutions in Kenya‘ has also suggested potential remedies to curb the corruption scourge.

Among the key findings of the report was that despite Kenya’s elaborate legal framework, other factors still stood in the way of stemming endemic corruption.

“Despite Kenya’s robust legal framework—including the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Act, the Anti-Bribery Act, and the Leadership and Integrity Act—the report finds that corruption remains deeply entrenched. Key challenges include weak enforcement of anti-corruption laws, inadequate resources for oversight institutions, overlapping mandates among agencies, and low public trust in the country’s anti-corruption efforts,” the report revealed.

Loopholes and inconsistencies

Speaking at the launch, Executive Director of Transparency International Kenya, Sheila Masinde, emphasized the urgent need for reforms in the country against corruption.

“This report is a wake-up call. Kenya must take decisive action to close legal loopholes, strengthen institutions, and empower citizens to demand accountability. Corruption is not just a legal issue; it’s a governance crisis that erodes morals, ethics, and the future of every Kenyan,” Masinde stated.

Calls for urgent reforms came after the report identified loopholes in Kenya’s anti-corruption laws and inconsistencies hindering the effective enforcement of policies aimed at slaying this dragon.

Transparency International highlighted resource challenges, which it observed affected both the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP).

The report further flagged the two bodies and exposed them for battling with coordination challenges, insisting that it was detrimental to the war against graft.

In the report, the issue of integrity vetting, lack of proper mechanisms to carry out lifestyle audits, overlapping institutional framework, and low threshold for enforcement against breaches of ethics were also listed among the issues slowing down the fight against graft.

The other issues that emerged in the report were that public participation in governance and civic action against corruption were limited, allowing corrupt practices to persist.

Similarly, the report pointed out that the role of non-state actors, including civil society and faith-based organizations, is significant but constrained by systemic barriers.

Fight against corruption

The report comes in the backdrop of President William Ruto’s State of the Nation address where he vowed to stem graft no matter the consequences and backlash that may come his way.

“This fight against corruption is one of the most difficult tasks I undertake, and I am determined to see it through. Let this serve as a warning to all: the institutions charged with this responsibility must step up their efforts,” Ruto said in November 2024.

At the time, he pointed fingers at the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP), stating that several cases had been dropped due to the lack of witnesses, dealing a major blow to the efforts to fight graft.

“It is unacceptable that the Director of Public Prosecutions continues to drop cases because witnesses cannot be found,” he said. “It is also intolerable that corruption suspects rush to court for anticipatory bail, which shields them from due process and allows them to interfere with investigations,” Ruto noted

In his latest commitment to fighting graft, Ruto’s United Democratic Alliance (UDA) signed a framework with Raila Odinga’s Orange Democratic Movement (ODM), and the resolve to fight graft was among the issues prioritized.