Stakeholders in the public sector have called for ethics, integrity and good governance to be formally incorporated into the education curriculum.
Speaking during a stakeholder participation session organised by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) in Nyeri, the stakeholders emphasized the need for ethical values to be inculcated in young Kenyans at an early age.
They said that integrating integrity into the Competence Based Education curriculum would help nurture a generation that understands the dangers of corruption and embraces ethical conduct as part of their daily life,
“I would recommend that in addition to the annual target set to sensitize over 100,000 learners in our schools, that EACC would engage stakeholders in the Education sector to see that integrity is taught at school so that it is engrained in an individual at a very early age,”said Morris Barasa.
The stakeholders also asked the anti-graft agency to set aside part of its annual budget for regular sensitization workshops for members of the public. Those who gave their views during the session noted that some Kenyans engage in corrupt practices because they lack sufficient knowledge about what constitutes corruption and unethical conduct.
Kenneth Kahoro told the Commission that corruption has become normalised with a section of society viewing bribery as part of everyday culture.
“There are quite a number of people who engage in corruption due to lack of knowledge. I think the vice has been deeply entrenched such that there are people who perceive giving bribes as a culture. This can easily be reversed if the public is enlightened,” said Kahoro.
The session was aimed at gathering views on the commission’s 2027/2028 budget and the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework.The commission also took time to enumerate some of the achievements realised during the 2025/2026 Financial year as well list its plans for the current fiscal year.
For the Financial Year 2026/2027 the commission said the exchequer had approved a budget of Sh 4.97 billion, a Sh 660 million increase from the Sh 4.31 billion allocated during the 2025/2026 financial year.
In the current fiscal year, the commission plans to spend part of its budget to investigate 436 cases involving corruption, bribery and unethical conduct. This is a 23 per cent reduction from the 572 corruption cases investigated during the 2025/2026 financial year.
Out of the 572 investigations, the EACC forwarded 178 files to the Director of Public Prosecutions comprising 94 cases of corruption, economic crime, bribery and 81 cases of unethical violations together with appropriate recommendations.
The commission also intends to preserve approximately Sh 2.4 billion worth of illegally acquired and unexplained assets.There are also plans to recover Sh 4.5 billion of corruptly acquired assets and unexplained wealth.
The EACC further intends to undertake 14 system examinations and risk assessments in public institutions to help identify and address corruption loopholes. The Commission reported that during the previous financial year, it undertook a total of 16 system examinations and risk assessments.
There are also plans to sensitize 177,000 learners in institutions of learning on ethics, integrity and good governance.
The commission said it is working towards achieving 80 per cent compliance with the requirements for submission of Declaration of Income, Assets and Liabilities by State and Public Officers in the current financial year.
During the session EACC Director of Legal Services Directorate, David Too cited political interference and the Commission’s lack of prosecutorial powers as some of the key challenges that are derailing the fight against corruption.
He said that investigations involving politically exposed and powerful individuals can sometimes become politicised, with supporters protesting against the commission’s actions even when an individual has only been summoned to record a statement.
Similarly, he noted that delays in court proceedings affect the pace of recovery and prosecution of corruption cases, adding that the commission has recommended that anti-corruption cases be fast-tracked and accorded priority in the same way as election petitions.
“In terms of recovery and prosecution we rely on the Judiciary and the processes sometimes either because of capacity or the lack of resources by the respective agencies, the case may take a while before they are concluded. As a commission, we have made recommendations to the Judiciary to fast-track the hearing of anti-corruption cases so that they are given priority like the election petitions,” said Too.
The Director also cited difficulties in implementing recommendations arising from system reviews and corruption risk assessments.
According to Too, institutions are not legally obliged to implement EACC advisories, meaning recommendations can remain unimplemented unless an institution takes them up or they are acted upon through other lawful processes.
By Wangari Mwangi
