Kenya Up by Five Places in Corruption Perception Index – Transparency International

Kenya has improved by five places in a latest global corruption ranking.

A report by Transparency International dated February 11, 2025, ranked Kenya at position 121, up from 126 in 2023, with 32 points out of a possible 100 in the 2024 yearly graft ranking. 

The Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) report aggregated data from different sources that provided perceptions from business people and country experts on the level of corruption in the public sector.

The CPI drew upon 13 data sources which captured the assessment of experts and business executives on a number of corrupt behaviours in the public sector, including bribery, diversion of public funds, use of public office for private gain, nepotism in the civil service, and state capture.

The report also detailed the mechanisms available to prevent corruption in a country, such as the government’s ability to enforce integrity mechanisms, the effective prosecution of corrupt officials as well as red tape and excessive bureaucratic burden. Other parameters considered were the existence of adequate laws on financial disclosure, conflict of interest prevention and access to information and legal protection for whistle blowers, journalists and investigators.

The data sources were then standardised with a scale of 0-100 where a 0 equaled the highest level

of perceived corruption and 100 equaled the lowest level of perceived corruption. The standardisation is done by subtracting the mean of each source in the baseline year from each country score and then dividing by the standard deviation of that source in the baseline year. 

This subtraction and division using the baseline year parameters ensures that the CPI scores are comparable year on year since 2012. After this procedure, the standardised scores are transformed to the CPI scale by multiplying with the value of the CPI standard deviation in 2012 (20) and adding the mean of CPI in 2012 (45), so that the data set fits the CPI’s 0-100 scale.

For a country or territory to be included in the CPI, a minimum of three sources must assess that country. A country’s CPI score is then calculated as the average of all standardised scores available for that

country. Scores are rounded to whole numbers.

The CPI is accompanied by a standard error and confidence interval associated with the score, which captures the variation in scores of the data sources available for that country/territory.

Despite Kenya’s improvement, corruption in the country is still high, as graft ravages the nation, threatening to hinder development.

A recent report by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) highlighted the National Police Service and National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) as the most corrupt institutions in the country.

The report, released by the EACC on Tuesday, January 28, revealed that families and professionals of those working within the corrupt institutions are the entities abetting graft. 

The report also highlighted the Ministry of Lands, Jomo Kenyatta International Airport(JKIA) and the individuals working within the port health services as some of the most corrupt individuals and entities in Kenya.

Additionally, the report found that officers and professionals deployed within the Kenya National Highways Authority(KENHA), Kericho Referral Hospital and Nairobi City County were among the most corrupt institutions in Kenya.

As compared to its peers in the East African region, Kenya ranks fourth in the ranking. Rwanda tops the region with 57 points, followed by Tanzania at 41. Ethiopia closed the top three with 37 points. Kenya is closely followed by Djibouti with 31 points at fifth place. 

At the bottom end of the spectrum in the region are South Sudan (eight points), Somalia (nine points), Eritrea (13 points) and Sudan (15 points). 

In the broader African context, the report revealed that sub-Saharan Africa had the lowest average score in respect to corruption. The key reason for this was weak anti-corruption measures particularly in spearheading climate action.

Lack of transparency and accountability were noted as major causes of corruption cases undermining climate action. Research revealed that misuse or embezzlement of funds increased the risk of limited transparency and accountability.

Despite the low outlook for Africa, Transparency International highlighted that there were African countries that invested in anti-corruption measures resulting in remarkable progress.