TI Kenya: 71% of citizens say corruption is on rise

Ascah Mwango 31st July, 2025 04:04 PM

Banner displaying acts of corruption. The image is used for purposes of representation. PHOTO/Pexels

A majority of Kenyans believe corruption is on the rise, according to a new report by Transparency International Kenya.

The 2025 Kenya Bribery Index, released on July 17, showed that 71 per cent of citizens think the level of corruption in the country has increased over the past year.

The report paints a worrying picture about public perception of corruption, showing that an additional 12 per cent of Kenyans feel that corruption has remained the same. This means that more than 80 per cent of respondents believe the situation is either getting worse or has not improved.

“The proportion of citizens who believe the level of corruption in Kenya rose compared to the past year was about 71%. Additionally, there were 12% who observed that the levels of corruption remained at the same level. This means over 80% of the respondents believe the situation either remained the same or got worse,” the report stated.

When compared to earlier surveys, the findings revealed a rising trend in negative perception. The percentage of people who believe corruption levels are worsening has increased by six points since the 2017 survey.

“The key issue to note is that in the three surveys, about two-thirds of the respondents perceive corruption levels as getting worse,” TI Kenya noted.

Adding;

“The proportion that believes the situation is getting better remains less than a fifth of the respondents across the three surveys.”

2025 Kenya Bribery Index report. PHOTO/ Screengrab by K24 Digital from TI Kenya website

Public pessimism about the future of corruption in Kenya has remained consistently high over time.

In the 2017 survey, 47 per cent of respondents believed corruption would worsen in the coming year. That number rose to 55 per cent in 2019 before dropping back to 47 per cent in the current 2025 survey.

“Across time, there is consistently a high level of pessimism on the future of corruption levels,” the report added.

Meanwhile, optimism has remained low and stagnant. TI Kenya indicated that only about a quarter of Kenyans believe corruption levels will decrease in the coming year.

According to the survey, 25 per cent held this view in 2017, dropping slightly to 21 per cent in 2019, before settling again at 25 per cent in the latest report.

The organisation said the findings show that despite various government efforts and anti-corruption campaigns, the public still lacks confidence in the progress being made to fight corruption.