The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) has unveiled the most corrupt public offices in Kenya, revealing the deep-rooted issue of graft affecting key government institutions. According to the National Ethics and Corruption Survey 2023, corruption continues to undermine service delivery, with millions of Kenyans facing challenges when accessing essential services.
The report, released on Tuesday, February 11, 2025, identifies the County Health Department, the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA), the County Commissioner’s Office, the Public Service Commission, and the County Public Service Boards as the top five most corrupt institutions, all recording 100% corruption prevalence. EACC highlighted that individuals seeking services from these institutions are often forced to pay bribes to expedite processes.
Other institutions also reported 100% corruption prevalence, including the National Construction Authority (NCA), the Teachers Service Commission (TSC), the Kenya Forestry Service (KFS), the Ministry of Defence, and the Ministry of Industrialization, Trade, and Enterprise Development. Agencies such as the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) Office (98.2%), Dispensaries and Public Hospitals (94.5%), and Regular Police (87.2%) also showed alarmingly high corruption rates.
The EACC report stressed that bribery remains a significant barrier in accessing essential services like applying for TSC numbers, vehicle registration, construction permits, and even securing driving licenses. The report also noted the growing financial burden of corruption, with the average national bribe rising to Ksh 11,625 in 2023, up from Ksh 6,865 in 2022.
In addition, the report revealed that Nyamira, Baringo, Siaya, Bungoma, Turkana, West Pokot, Samburu, Nandi, Kakamega, and Kisumu had the highest corruption prevalence, with public offices in these regions recording 100% graft levels.
According to the survey of 5,100 respondents across all 47 counties, 57.3% of Kenyans believe that corruption levels remain high. This concern is further reflected in Kenya’s ranking of 121st out of 180 countries in the 2024 Corruption Perception Index (CPI), as reported by Transparency International Kenya (TI-K).
