The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) on Monday published an audit and research report highlighting the level of corruption and bribery within the National Police Service(NPS).
The report released by the EACC at the Embakasi Police Training School found that the average bribe amount paid to regular and traffic police officers increased by 39.1 per cent and 84.2 per cent between 2022 and 2023, respectively.
This saw members of the public paying an average of Ksh11,115 to get a service from the regular police while paying an average of Ksh7,000 to get the same from their traffic counterparts.
The audit further revealed that a Kenyan seeking police abstract paid an average of Ksh20,000 in 2023 up from an average of Ksh2,000 paid in 2022. This is despite the document being part of the basic requirements for service in the police service charter.
EACC CEO Abdi Mohamud during a courtesy call on the Inspector General of the National Police Service (NPS), Douglas Kanja at Jogoo House in Nairobi on January 27, 2025.
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EACC
Kenyans seeking police protection paid an average of Ksh6,887 in 2023, up from Ksh816 paid in the form of bribes in 2018.
However, the amount paid by Kenyans to bribe for the certificate of good conduct decreased to Ksh541 in 2023 from the Ksh2,183 paid in 2022.
The number of people who paid bribes to both regular and traffic police has increased over the past two years. The report revealed that 75 out of 100 individuals admitted to bribing traffic police in 2024, compared to 69 out of 100 in 2023 and 2022.
The report found that the likelihood of being asked for a bribe while seeking police service continued to remain high even as the possibility of being given a better service after bribing remained low.
Why Bribes?
The report found that corruption and bribe issues were still deeply entrenched in the service due to weak systems that exposed officers to unethical practices. Additionally, the lack of command accountability and supervisory control was blamed on the vice.
The command structure of the service was also found to have aided in the bad trend by unlawfully deducting money and allowances from the officers’ benefits.
Further, the audit blamed the NPS for not having developed the requisite documents in line with Chapter Six of the Constitution to deal with the vice.
Non-compliance with provisions of the Leadership and Integrity Act, 2012, and inadequate prevention mechanisms were also blamed.
Githurai Police Station in Nairobi.
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Githurai Police Station