Police Lead Bribery Rankings
Police officers top the bribery index at 35.5%, a ranking that anti-corruption advocates say reflects the unchecked discretionary power uniformed officers wield on Kenya’s roads and at checkpoints. The National Police Service Commission has acknowledged the problem publicly, launching integrity vetting programmes and dismissing officers found culpable. Yet the figures remain damning. Motorists, particularly matatu operators and long-haul truck drivers, report that paying roadside “fines” directly to officers is faster and cheaper than navigating the formal court process, a calculation that keeps the bribe economy alive. The survey found that male respondents reported bribing police at a rate of 41.6%, underscoring how gender and occupation shape exposure to police corruption.
Close behind, the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) records a 25.4% bribery prevalence rate. NTSA officers, responsible for vehicle inspections, driving licences, and road-worthiness certificates, operate at chokepoints where delays cost businesses real money. That economic pressure, reformers argue, creates the conditions under which informal payments become normalized. The survey noted that men make up 92.9% of the NTSA workforce, the highest male concentration of any agency covered, a demographic reality that shapes both the profile of officers likely to solicit bribes and the citizens most exposed to those demands.
“What this report reveals is not isolated incidents of misconduct but systemic weaknesses in how public services are accessed, delivered, and regulated.”
EACC Chairperson David Oginde, Kenya National Gender and Corruption Survey 2025 launch, April 9, 2026
Civil Registration and Land Registry
Civil registration officials rank second at 30.0%, a figure that exposes a deeply troubling reality: millions of Kenyans effectively have to pay to prove they exist. The survey found that seeking a birth certificate is the single public service most frequently associated with bribery, reported by 23.0% of respondents, higher than any other transaction covered. Birth certificates, death notices, and marriage registrations are legal rights, yet survey respondents consistently report being asked for informal “facilitation fees” to move files forward or avoid fabricated backlogs. The average bribe paid to civil registration officials is Ksh 1,415, the lowest of any department, but the sheer frequency of those interactions makes this sector one of the most corrosive for ordinary families.
Land registry officers, ranked fourth at 23.3%, sit at the intersection of Kenya’s most emotionally and financially charged public service: property ownership. The Ministry of Lands and Physical Planning has been the subject of repeated parliamentary investigations into title deed fraud, illegal alterations of land records, and the disappearance of files, all phenomena that create opportunities for bribe solicitation. The survey confirms the stakes are high: land registry officers receive an average bribe of Ksh 17,996, the second largest of any department, surpassed only by magistrates. Analysts note that land corruption in Kenya is rarely petty, as a single fraudulent title transfer can involve payments to multiple officials across different departments.
Registration of persons officers, at 21.2%, present a parallel problem. National identity cards are mandatory for Kenyans over 18, required for voting, banking, and nearly every interaction with the formal economy. The survey found that ID card applications were reported as a bribery context by 12.3% of respondents, a significant share, given that this service should by law be free. Delays in processing, whether manufactured or systemic, push applicants toward informal payments, with the average bribe for ID registration recorded at Ksh 1,899.
Immigration and Revenue Officers
Immigration officers account for 18.2% of bribery complaints, a figure that carries consequences beyond individual citizens. Businesses reliant on expatriate staff, international investors, and refugees navigating the asylum process all interact with immigration desks where discretionary decisions and delays invite corrupt transactions. The Department of Immigration Services is among the departments the EACC has flagged for enhanced monitoring following the survey’s release. Notably, the average bribe paid to immigration officers stands at Ksh 12,102, among the highest of any frontline service department, reflecting the high financial pressure applicants face when legal status or business operations are on the line.
Tax and revenue officers, while recording the lowest prevalence at 13.1%, operate in a sector where individual bribe amounts tend to be substantially higher. Officials at the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) handle corporate tax assessments, import duty calculations, and customs clearances, decisions worth hundreds of thousands of shillings to businesses. The survey found that women who paid bribes repeatedly, ten or more times over 12 months, were disproportionately concentrated in the tax and revenue sector, with 19.8% of repeat female bribery incidents directed at these officers, the highest of any department for that group.
For all the statistics, it is the human texture of these encounters that reveals corruption’s true cost. A mother in Kisumu paying Ksh 1,000 to register her newborn when a death certificate officially costs Ksh 150. A boda boda rider in Eldoret losing a day’s earnings at a police roadblock. A small business owner in Mombasa paying to clear goods already legally imported. Each transaction is, in isolation, small. Collectively, they represent what the EACC estimates as billions of shillings annually diverted from productive economic activity. In response, EACC CEO Abdi Mohamud announced plans to deploy undercover integrity testing and enhanced monitoring in high-bribery sectors, targeting at least a 20% reduction in bribery prevalence within six months, a commitment that anti-corruption advocates say must be backed by structural reforms removing the discretionary bottlenecks that make bribery rational in the first place.