NAIROBI, Kenya, Apr 9 — Police officers, civil registration officials, land registry staff, and National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) officers have been identified as the public institutions with the highest corruption prevalence in Kenya, according to a new national survey released on Thursday.
The Kenya National Gender and Corruption Survey 2025, conducted jointly by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) and the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS), shows that more than seven in ten bribes (72.2 per cent) are paid in cash, underscoring the persistence of informal, hard-to-trace transactions in public service delivery.
Police officers recorded the highest corruption prevalence at 35.5 per cent. They were followed by civil registration officials (30 per cent), NTSA officers (25.4 per cent), land registry officials (23.3 per cent), and registration of persons officials (21.2 per cent).
The report points to systemic vulnerabilities in frontline service institutions where citizens frequently interact with public officials.
Sh164,367 bribe for magistrates
While police recorded the highest prevalence, judicial officers topped the list in terms of the average size of bribes paid. Magistrates received the highest average bribe at Sh164,367.
They were followed by land registry officials (Sh17,996), Members of County Assembly (Sh13,038), immigration officers (Sh12,102), prosecutors (Sh11,809), and police officers (Sh4,656).
Cash remains the dominant mode of bribery at 72.2 per cent, with smaller shares reported through mobile transfers (10.5 per cent).
Other forms include livestock such as goats and cattle (2.2 per cent), valuables like phones and jewellery (2.2 per cent), and non-monetary exchanges such as favours, food, or services (each at about 1.1 per cent).
The survey indicates that bribery is largely a precondition for accessing services.
A significant 84.3 per cent of bribes were paid before services were rendered, compared to 15.7 per cent paid at the point of service. Smaller proportions were paid after service (9.4 per cent) or split between before and after (7.1 per cent).
Higher bribes from older Kenyans
At the county level, Kakamega recorded the highest average bribe at Sh79,305, followed by West Pokot (Sh16,400), Isiolo (Sh13,912), Vihiga (Sh12,309), and Garissa (Sh12,297).
The survey also found disparities across age groups, with older Kenyans paying significantly higher bribes.
Those aged over 65 paid an average of Sh30,027, compared to Sh7,219 for those aged 50–64. Younger respondents reported lower averages, with those aged 18–24 paying Sh2,608.
The survey was presented by EACC Director of Preventive Services Vincent Okong’o at a high-level event attended by EACC Chairperson David Oginde, CEO Abdi Mohamud, senior judiciary officials, diplomats, and representatives from international partners, including the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the European Union.
It was conducted as a joint initiative involving EACC, KNBS, the National Gender and Equality Commission (NGEC), Transparency International Kenya, and UNODC under the PLEAD II programme.
Kenya becomes only the third country in Africa to conduct a gender-focused corruption survey, after Ghana and Nigeria.
EACC said the study aligns with global and national frameworks, including the United Nations Convention against Corruption, which calls for citizen participation and gender-responsive anti-corruption strategies.
It also supports Kenya’s National Ethics and Anti-Corruption Policy and the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly Goal 16 on reducing corruption and strengthening institutions.
Using a cross-sectional mixed-methods approach, the survey interviewed 16,858 respondents across all 47 counties, providing one of the most comprehensive datasets on corruption patterns in Kenya.