Kenya has been ranked among the worst countries in the fight against corruption, according to the 2025 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) released by Transparency International.

The country scored 30 out of 100 points, placing it 130th out of 182 countries, down from 32 points and 122nd place in 2024. This decline reflects a worsening environment for combating graft.

Transparency International attributed the drop to withdrawn high-profile cases and weak prosecution efforts, which allow corruption to thrive across government sectors.

Sheila Masinde, executive director of TI-Kenya, described corruption in Kenya as a “sophisticated, resilient system” that undermines democracy, the rule of law, good governance, and accountability.

Despite the bleak assessment, the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) reported some gains. In the 2024/2025 financial year, it recovered 3.4 billion shillings out of 22.9 billion in suspected graft and prevented potential losses of 16.5 billion shillings through investigations.

However, persistent case withdrawals and weak prosecutions continue to undermine these efforts.

A notable example occurred in September 2025, when the High Court overturned the ODPP’s decision to drop corruption charges against Cooperatives Cabinet Secretary Wycliffe Oparanya, who faced allegations of misappropriating 56.7 million shillings during his tenure as Kakamega governor.

Justice Benjamin Musyoki ruled that the ODPP acted unconstitutionally by withdrawing the charges without consulting the EACC.

Kenya’s CPI score has stagnated between 25 and 33 points over the past 13 years, despite legislative and institutional reforms.

Convictions remain rare, though Former Kiambu Governor Ferdinand Waititu was convicted in February 2025 in a 588 million shillings corruption case and failed to reduce his 12-year prison sentence.

EACC data showed thatout of 4,183 corruption reports processed in 2024/2025 and 14 proactive investigations, very few led to convictions.

EACC Chairperson David Oginde warned that weak enforcement of Chapter Six of the Constitution, witness interference, and institutional silos remain major obstacles to anti-graft efforts, despite documented gains.

In a regional context, Sub-Saharan Africa remains the lowest-performing region globally with an average score of 32.

Within East Africa, Rwanda led with 58 points, followed by Tanzania (40), Uganda (25), Burundi (17), and Kenya (30).

Globally, the average CPI score fell to 42, the lowest in over a decade. Denmark topped the index with 89 points, followed by Finland (88) and Singapore (84).

Ahead of the 2027 general elections, TI-Kenya recommends protecting whistleblowers, adopting stronger whistleblower protection laws, enhancing digital transparency systems, providing adequate funding for anti-corruption institutions, and strictly enforcing leadership and integrity provisions to ensure only qualified individuals hold public office.

Masinde emphasized that these steps are essential to address political interference, abuse of office, and lack of political will.