CLARIFICATION ON A STORY TITLED “NTSA, TSC, JUDICIARY AMONG KENYA’S MOST CORRUPTION INSTITUTIONS – EACC REPORT”
The Judiciary’s attention has been drawn to a story written by one Moses Kinyanjui and published by Citizen Digital on 11th February 2025 (www.citizen.digital).
The story is titled “NTSA, TSC, Judiciary Among Kenya’s Most Corrupt Institutions – EACC report.” The story quotes its source as the National Ethics and Corruption Survey of 2023 released by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission.
The first thing one notices, upon reading the story, is the sharp and deliberate discordance between the title and the body of the article. The story starts by naming TEN public bodies that “were listed as the top institutions with a 100% graft prevalence.” The story avers that “the Commission reported that respondents who sought services in these institutions had to pay a bribe for swift processing.” Judiciary is not among the ten institutions.
As if the above was not enough, the story further lists an additional FOUR public institutions following in tow in corruption prevalence. Still, the Judiciary is not one of the four. From the above, one cannot help but read mischief in the way the story is deliberately twisted to inappropriately drag the name of the Judiciary into the story.
Short of malice and mischief therefore, why would the editor pick on the Judiciary to feature in the headline of the story?
The Judiciary wishes to clarify that it is not averse to public scrutiny. Neither does the Judiciary define itself as a citadel of virtue where no corruption can occur. In fact, it is highly aware of the need to prevent and to fight corruption. It is noted for the record, that in 2021 the Hon Chief Justice Martha Koome invited the EACC to conduct a systems review to identify any weak areas or loopholes that could be exploited for corruption. The findings of the study are now being implemented.
Further, the Judiciary is among the few public institutions that have a fully-fledged unit, the Judiciary Ombudsman that does nothing else but process public complaints. Other measures to deal with corruption include the recent directive by the Chief Justice that every court forms an Integrity Committee which will be responsible for enhancing integrity at the court level.
Automation and digitising of services and processes is yet another measure that the Judiciary is taking to enhance the fight against corruption. E-filing, virtual courts, e-processing of payments as well as offering many of the registry services online, are all ways the Judiciary is employing to increase efficiency and reduce corruption.
On the judicial side, if one feels aggrieved by a judgment or has reason to believe corruption or factors other than the law influenced the outcome of their case, they have an opportunity to either appeal to a higher court or submit a formal complaint.
The Judiciary would like thank the public for staying vigilant and for demanding for corruption-free governance across all sectors of the society, particularly the public sector. Owing to its watchdog mandate, the media has a big role to play in fighting corruption. The media is urged to play its role in a professional manner and to avoid disinformation, as is the case in this story.
Hon. Paul Ndemo, OGW, ‘ndc’ (K)
JUDICIARY SPOKESPERSON