{"id":134115,"date":"2026-03-13T07:02:53","date_gmt":"2026-03-13T07:02:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/snake-under-the-bed-eacc-chair-urges-students-to-confront-corruption\/"},"modified":"2026-03-13T07:02:53","modified_gmt":"2026-03-13T07:02:53","slug":"snake-under-the-bed-eacc-chair-urges-students-to-confront-corruption","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/snake-under-the-bed-eacc-chair-urges-students-to-confront-corruption\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Snake under the bed\u2019: EACC Chair urges students to confront corruption"},"content":{"rendered":"

NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 13 \u2013 Corruption in Kenya is like a \u201csnake under the bed\u201d \u2013 hidden, dangerous, and capable of undermining the entire system \u2013 and must be confronted collectively, the Chairperson of the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC), David Oginde, said on Thursday.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Speaking at the Pan Africa Christian University (PAC) campus during the Kenya Leadership Integrity Forum (KLIF) Campus Edition, Oginde urged students, university leaders, and stakeholders to reject the notion that corruption is a \u201cnecessary evil.\u201d<\/p>\n

The EACC boss warned that corruption threatens the nation\u2019s future and must be confronted before it causes harm.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe most dangerous snake is not the one crossing the road in broad daylight. The most dangerous snake is the one hidden in the room where people believe they are safe,\u201d Oginde told university leaders, students, and other stakeholders.<\/p>\n

\u201cIgnoring corruption is like allowing a snake to remain in your house because it might eat rats. Eventually, it will strike.\u201d<\/p>\n

Oginde cautioned that accepting corruption as part of everyday life erodes public trust, undermines institutions, discourages investment, and increases inequality.<\/p>\n

He argued that leadership plays a decisive role in setting the ethical tone of society, noting that when leaders tolerate wrongdoing, integrity becomes optional.<\/p>\n

Challenging the theme of the forum \u2013 whether corruption can be \u201ctamed\u201d \u2013 he said that language implying coexistence risks normalizing wrongdoing.<\/p>\n

\u201cCorruption does not make systems work better; it only benefits a few while damaging society,\u201d he said, citing its impact on public trust, investor confidence, inequality, and institutional efficiency.<\/p>\n

Governance standards <\/h2>\n

The EACC Chairperson highlighted the role of citizens in sustaining governance standards, noting that corruption requires at least two actors and thrives when society normalizes unethical practices. <\/p>\n

He invoked the words of anti-corruption advocate John Githongo, emphasizing that corruption flourishes when citizens lose their sense of moral outrage.<\/p>\n

Oginde said Africa\u2019s youthful population, innovation, and resources offer a chance for prosperity, but corruption threatens the continent\u2019s potential. <\/p>\n

He cited examples such as Singapore, where disciplined governance and transparency have driven sustainable growth, and urged society to \u201csmoke out\u201d corruption, forcing it from hiding and restoring accountability.<\/p>\n

He also highlighted the commission\u2019s recent achievements in fighting corruption, including filing 133 asset recovery suits worth approximately Sh25.71 billion.<\/p>\n

The EACC Chairperson also noted the recovery of Sh7.4 billion in illegally acquired assets and seventy-two convictions in corruption-related cases<\/p>\n

Oginde explained that combating corruption requires coordinated action among leaders, institutions, and citizens, warning that ignoring the problem today will have long-term consequences for the nation.<\/p>\n

The lecture at PAC University brought together students, faculty, government officials, and representatives from civil society, under the theme: \u201cCan we really tame corruption, or is it a necessary evil in today\u2019s society?\u201d<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 13 \u2013 Corruption in Kenya is like a \u201csnake under the bed\u201d \u2013 hidden, dangerous, and capable of undermining the entire system \u2013 and must be confronted collectively, the Chairperson of the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC), David Oginde, said on Thursday. Speaking at the Pan Africa Christian University (PAC) campus during […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-134115","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","entry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/134115","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=134115"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/134115\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=134115"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=134115"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=134115"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}