April 18, 2026
Kenya's MOST Corrupt Professions As The Police, Immigration Officials Lead

Kenya’s MOST Corrupt Professions As The Police, Immigration Officials Lead

Police officers, National Registration Bureau officers, and medical officers, including doctors, clinical officers, and nurses, as well as land registry and immigration authorities, have been identified as among the most common beneficiaries of bribes.

According to the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC)’s National Ethics and Corruption Survey 2024, these officials are the most frequent beneficiaries of bribes in the public sector.

“An analysis of bribe receivers by profession revealed that police officers (29.93 per cent), National Registration Bureau (19.7 per cent), medical officers (9.53 per cent), officials from the land registry (7.39 per cent), and immigration officers (5.8 per cent) were the most bribe receivers,” the report noted.

Others include health personnel in public hospitals (4.94%), area chiefs, and assistant chiefs (3.95%).

Meanwhile, officers from Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) (2.49%) and the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) (1.84%) were also recognized.

Officials from the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) (1.4%) and the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) (1.22%) were also highlighted.

County Executive Employees (1.21%), Members of County Assembly (0.94%), and Lands Commission officers (0.83%).

According to EACC, the bulk of respondents paid bribes in cash (99.5%), with only a handful paying in food and drink (0.5%).

Furthermore, the majority of respondents (75.6 percent) paid the bribe before the service was provided.

However, 18.5 per cent paid during the service, while those who paid after the service (3.1 per cent), and those who paid partly before and partly after the service (2.8 per cent).

Other authorities mentioned in the study included Huduma Centre personnel, county/tax revenue officers, teachers, lecturers, and professors, county inspectorate officers, civil registration officers, traffic police officers, prison officers, and social service officers.

Officers from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), Members of Parliament (MPs), prosecutors, judges or magistrates, Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) personnel, members of the Armed Forces, and National Treasury officers were also held accountable.

ALSO READ:

Furthermore, the Survey intended to determine the number of respondents who were requested to pay a bribe in exchange for a service, the reasons they paid the bribe, and whether or not they reported the occurrences.

The proportion of respondents who were asked to pay a bribe to acquire a service grew to 25.4 percent in 2024, up from 17.7 percent in 2023.

Respondents who requested services and paid bribes accounted for 17.1%.

According to the report, the majority of respondents (43.3 percent) paid a bribe because it was asked, followed by 23.3 percent who said it was the only way to get a service and 18 percent who paid to prevent a delay.

Interestingly, 72.5% of service seekers were unsatisfied with public services received after paying a bribe, compared to 20.7% who were satisfied.

Kenya’s MOST Corrupt Professions As The Police, Immigration Officials Lead

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *