Corruption deepens in the Country for the last 2 years, AfriCog Reports shows.

Deep-seated corruption has intensified in the country over the past two years of President William Ruto’s administration, according to a corruption report by Africa Centre for Open Governance (AfriCOG).

Under Ruto’s governance, scandals have increased, extravagant spending has persisted, institutional decline has continued, and checks and balances have weakened.

As indicated in the report released yesterday by Gladwell Otieno, the Executive Director of AfriCOG, the politics of patronage remains strong as President Ruto works to strengthen his support base, rewarding his allies and bringing former opponents into the government.

The “expansion of government” is said to have contributed to increased corruption and impunity while simultaneously limiting the government’s capacity amidst debt challenges and mounting demographic pressures exemplified by the Gen Z uprising.

Prominent among the government institutions identified as enabling high-level corruption are the Auditor General’s office, the office of the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP), and the police.

The most recent report, which documents and evaluates corruption in the initial two years of President William Ruto’s government, also addresses the concluding period of the Uhuru Kenyatta Jubilee administration.

This is the latest in a series of reports that have investigated the growth and characteristics of corruption over the years.

Despite intermittent positive developments and encouraging displays of individual bravery and integrity, corruption continues to flourish in the country, hindering economic growth, promoting inequality, and violating human rights.

Tasked with auditing the government and reporting on the use and management of public resources by public entities, the lack of sufficient funding for the AG’s office, despite the expanding scope of work necessitated by a growing government budget and the establishment of new entities, has been identified as a factor that has contributed to inefficiency in uncovering the embezzlement of public funds.

At the same time, lack of an effective mechanism for follow up on implementation of audit recommendations is said to have been resulting in most audit queries recurring every year due to lack of decisive action.