EACC survey ranks Interior ministry as 'most corrupt'

Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission CEO Halakhe Waqo. PHOTO | SALATON NJAU | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • The survey also shows that the corruption perception among Kenyans is at 73.9 per cent.
  • The highest average bribe of Sh80,000 was paid in Mandera while in Garissa, the average bribe was at Sh52,000.
  • Murang’a County was ranked the most corrupt, with a mean of 3.78 (number of times bribe was demanded) followed by Embu (2.53), Bomet (2.46), Kisii (2.41) and Wajir (2.33), to complete the top five most corrupt devolved units.

The Interior Ministry is perceived to be the most prone to corruption, a survey by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) shows.

The ministry leads in corruption perception, at 40.3 per cent, followed by Health at 14.3 per cent and Land at 11 per cent.

Devolution and Planning is ranked at position six on the corruption index, at 5.1 per cent. The least corrupt ministry is Agriculture, at 2.4 per cent.

The survey also shows that the corruption perception among Kenyans is at 73.9 per cent.

This is higher figure compared with a similar survey in 2012, which indicated the level of corruption was at 67.7 per cent.

The EACC's 2015 survey was conducted from August 23 to October 23 in 46 counties except Mandera, and involved 5,260 face-to-face interviews.

The report was launched on Tuesday at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre. Those attending the launch include EACC Chief Executive Officer Halakhe Waqo, his deputy Michael Mubea, chairman Philip Kinisu and Attorney-General Githu Muigai, who was the chief guest.

TRAFFIC DEPARTMENT

In terms of departments, the survey ranked the Kenya Police Service as the most corrupt department, at 32.9 per cent, which is an improvement from 48 per cent in a similar survey conducted in 2012.

The Traffic Police Department came second at 18.8 per cent, while chiefs’ offices were ranked at number three as the most corrupt, at 6.2 per cent.

However, this is an improvement compared with 2012, when the corruption level was at 10.2 per cent.

The Public Service was ranked as the department with the lowest levels of corruption at 2.8 per cent, up from 1.3 per cent in 2012.

The Registrar of Lands department was the second least corrupt at 1.1 per cent, a great improvement since 2012, when the department had a corruption index of 8.8 per cent.

COUNTY RANKING

Murang’a County was ranked the most corrupt, with a mean of 3.78 (number of times bribe was demanded) followed by Embu (2.53), Bomet (2.46), Kisii (2.41) and Wajir (2.33), to complete the top five most corrupt devolved units.

Embu and Narok counties, which were ranked second and seventh most corrupt, while still remaining in the top 10, have reduced incidences of of bribery (compared with 2012), the survey says.

"The average bribe by county has gone up from Sh20,075 in 2012 to Sh80,000 in 2015," the reports notes.

The most corrupt departments in the county governments were health (29.1 per cent), lands and physical planning (14 per cent), public service board (11 per cent) and office of the governor (7.5 per cent).

Water, energy and environment, agriculture and county assemblies were the least corrupt at 1.3 per cent, 1.6 per cent and 3.2 per cent respectively.

HIGHEST BRIBE

The highest average bribe of Sh80,000 was paid in Mandera, while in Garissa, the average was Sh52,000.

In Baringo, the average bribe was Sh46,307.

Counties with the least amount of bribe money were Meru (Sh6,639), Narok (Sh6,965), Nandi (Sh7,000) and Nairobi (Sh7,436).

The types of services where bribes were demanded include seeking medical attention (20.7 per cent), seeking a national ID (18.4 per cent).

Others were seeking a birth certificate (13.4 per cent), seeking registration of land (10.2 per cent) and reporting a case or writing a statement (8 per cent).

The services where bribes were least demanded included changing ID particulars, obtaining a reference letter and solving land conflicts, which all ranked at 1.3 per cent.

For one to obtain a tender, one is forced to part with an average bribe of Sh275,000, while seeking employment attracted a bribe of Sh115,933 on average.

For people to have their impounded goods released, Kenyans were parting with an average bribe of Sh33,500.

About 94.5 per cent of Kenyans fail to report corruption cases, with 31 per cent saying they did not know where they should report.

Another 23.2 per cent feared for their lives or being intimidated while another 18 per cent believed no action would be taken even if they reported the incident.