WWW.AFROBAROMETER.ORG Kenyans decry incessant corruption but reluctant to report incidents Findings from Afrobarometer Round 6 survey in Kenya April 14, 2015 Nairobi Safari Club
Jul 21, 2015
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Kenyans decry incessant corruption
but reluctant to report incidents
Findings from Afrobarometer Round 6 survey in Kenya
April 14, 2015
Nairobi Safari Club
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At a glance
2
• A majority of Kenyans say that corruption has
increased over the past year.
• Nearly 1 in 3 Kenyans have had to pay a bribe at
least once in the past year, but most did not
report it to authorities
• Ordinary citizens and the media are key allies in
the fight against corruption.
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What is Afrobarometer?
• An African-led, non-partisan survey research project that
measures citizen attitudes on democracy and governance, the
economy, civil society, and other topics.
• Started in 12 countries in 1999; expanded to 35 African countries in Round 5 (2011-2013); round 6 surveys ongoing (2014 -2015)
• Goal: To give the public a voice in policymaking by providing
high-quality public opinion data to policymakers, policy
advocates, civil society organizations, academics, news media, donors and investors, and ordinary Africans.
• A national partner in each country conducts the survey. In Kenya,
Afrobarometer Round 6 survey was conducted by the University of
Nairobi’s Institute for Development Studies (IDS).
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Methodology
• Nationally representative sample of adult citizens
All respondents are randomly selected.
Sample is distributed across all 47 counties and along urban/rural divide in proportion to their share in the national
adult population.
Every adult citizen thus has known and equal chance of being
selected/included in the survey.
• Face-to-face interviews in language of respondent’s choice.
• Standard questionnaire which allows comparisons across
countries and over time.
• Sample size in Kenya of 2,397 adult citizens yields a margin of error of +/-2% at a 95% confidence level.
• Fieldwork for Round 6 survey in Kenya was conducted between
12 November and 5 December 2014.
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Survey demographics
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Gender %
Male 50
Female 50
Location
Urban 36
Rural 64
Education No formal education 8
Primary 36
Secondary 36
Post-secondary 20
Age %
18-25 22
26-35 36
36-45 21
46-55 11
56-65 7
Over 65 3
Religion
Christians 86
Muslims 9
Other 5
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Key findings
■ Perceived corruption in Kenya increased over the past
year.
■ The government has performed poorly in fighting
corruption.
■ Police, government officials, and members of Parliament
are perceived as the most corrupt.
■ Business executives are regarded as the most corrupt
among non-state actors.
■ Payment of bribes to access public school services, medical care and identity documents is low compared to payment of
bribes to obtain help from the police and courts.
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Key findings cont’d
■ A majority of Kenyans do not report bribery incidents. ■ Mainly due to fear of consequences and perceived inaction by
authorities
■ Kenyans believe that ordinary citizens can make a difference in the fight against corruption. ■ Mainly by refusing to pay bribes and reporting corruption incidents
■ Most Kenyans view the media as effective in revealing government corruption and support this watchdog role.
■ A majority of Kenyans view the ruling coalition as being better
able to fight corruption in government than opposition parties.
■ Difficulty in accessing services is a driving factor in citizens’ payment of bribes.
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Perceived corruption in Kenya | 2014
Respondents were asked: In your opinion, over the past year, has the level of corruption in this country increased, decreased, or stayed the same?
10
64
18 14
4
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
Increased
somewhat / a lot
Decreased
somewhat / a lot
Stayed the same Don't know
Pe
rce
nt
Government performance in fighting corruption
Respondents were asked: How well or badly would you say the current government is handling the fight against corruption? (%)
11
11
53
68 70 70 85
39
30 26 27
0
20
40
60
80
100
2002 2005 2008 2011 2014
Fairly badly / Very badly Fairly well / Very well
Perceived corruption within governance institutions | 2014
Respondents were asked: How many of the following people do you think are involved in corruption, or haven’t you heard enough about them to say? (% who say “most” or “all” of
them)
12
12
13
38
22
27
33
34
34
36
45
46
75
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
Traditional leaders
Religious leaders
Business executives
Kenya Defence Forces
The president and officials in his office
Judges and magistrates
County governor and officials in his office
Kenya Revenue Authority officials
Members of the county assembly
Members of Parliament
Government officials
Police
No
n-s
tate
ac
tors
Sta
te a
cto
rs
Percent
Trends in perceived corruption (1)
Respondents were asked: How many of the following people do you think are involved in corruption, or haven’t you heard enough about them to say? (% who say “most” or “all” of
them are corrupt)
13
8
27 28 29 27
41 42
49
45
30
34
46
52 46
2002 2005 2008 2011 2014
Presidency Members of Parliament Government Officials
Trends in perceived corruption (2)
Respondents were asked: How many of the following people do you think are involved in corruption, or haven’t you heard enough about them to say? (% who say “most” or “all” of
them are corrupt)
14
59 64
73 70
75
36
49
39 34
28 29
35
28 33
2002 2005 2008 2011 2014
Police Kenya revenue authority officials Judges and magistrates
Is ‘difficulty to obtain a service’ a driving factor to payment of bribes?
Respondents were asked: How often, if ever, did you have to pay a bribe, give a gift, or do a favour to access the following services ?
15
13%
60%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Easy / very easy Difficult / very difficult
Difficulty to obtain assistance from courts
Pa
id a
brib
e t
o g
et
ass
ista
nc
e f
rom
co
urt
s
Assistance from the courts
3%
25%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Easy / very easy Difficult / very difficult
Difficulty to obtain public school services
Pa
id a
brib
e t
o g
et
pu
blic
sc
ho
ol s
erv
ice
s
Public school services
‘Difficulty to obtain services’ and payment of bribes cont’d
Respondents were asked: How often, if ever, did you have to pay a bribe, give a gift, or do a favour to access the following services ?
16
13%
53%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Easy / very easy Difficult / very difficult
Difficulty to obtain identity document
Pa
id a
brib
e t
o o
bta
in a
n id
en
tity
do
cu
me
nt
Obtain identity document
19%
63%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Easy / very easy Difficult / very
difficult
Difficulty to obtain help from the police
Pa
id a
brib
e t
o o
bta
in h
elp
fro
m p
olic
e
Obtain help from police
‘Bribe for service’: proportion who paid bribe to access service
Respondents were asked: How often in the past year, if ever, did you have to pay a bribe,
give a gift, or do a favour to access the following services?
17
9
11
20
39
42
49
91
89
80
61
58
51
0 20 40 60 80 100
Get public school services
Get medical care
Get water / sanitation / electric
services
Get an identity document
Get assistance from courts
Obtain help from the police
Paid a bribe Never paid a bribe
Reporting of bribery incidents
Respondents were asked: If you ever paid a bribe for any of the services discussed above,
did you report any of the incidents you mentioned to a government official or someone in authority?
18
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ORY
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[PERCE…
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ORY
NAME]
[PERCE…
70
30
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
Never paid a bribe Paid a bribe
Pe
rce
nt
Main reasons for not reporting corruption | 2014
Respondents were asked: Some people say that many incidents of corruption are never reported. Based on your experience, what do you think is the main reason why many people do not report corruption when it occurs? (%)
19
4
1
2
2
2
3
4
6
7
8
9
25
27
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
Don't know
Other
Most people do report incidents of corruption
People don't have enough time to report it
Corruption is too difficult to prove
It's too expensive to report
People don't know how to report it
People don't know where to report it
They would implicate themselves as bribe-givers
The officials they would report to are also corrupt
Corruption is normal / Everyone does it
Nothing will be done / It wouldn't make a difference
People are afraid of the consequences
Ruling and opposition parties: Which can fight corruption?
Respondents were asked: Looking at the ruling and opposition political parties in this country, which would you say is most able to fight corruption in government? (%)
20
Urban Rural Male Female Total
Ruling political
parties 65 71 67 71 69
Opposition political
parties 23 16 21 17 19
Neither of them 10 9 10 8 9
Don't know 2 4 2 4 3
Can ordinary people help fight corruption?
Respondents were asked: Please tell me whether you agree or disagree with the following statement: Ordinary people can make a difference in the fight against corruption?
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50%
62%
66%
62%
55%
58%
40%
33%
27%
32%
36%
35%
6%
5%
7%
5%
6%
6%
4%
1%
1%
3%
2%
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Primary or
below
Secondary
Tertiary
Urban
Rural
Overall
Agree / strongly agree Disagree / strongly disagree Neither agree nor disagree Don’t know
Citizens’ ideas on most effective ways to combat corruption
Respondents were asked: What is the most effective thing that an ordinary person like you can do to help combat corruption in this country?
22
4
1
1
1
2
2
3
6
20
24
37
0 10 20 30 40
Don't know
Other
Sign a petition
Participate in protest marches
Talk to friends and relatives about the problem
Support an organisation that is fighting corruption
Speak out about the problem
Vote for clean candidates
Report corruption when you see or experience it
Nothing / Ordinary people cannot do anything
Refuse to pay bribes
Percent
News media and the fight against corruption
Respondents were asked: Which of the following statements is closest to your view?
Statement 1: The news media should constantly investigate and report on government mistakes and corruption.
Statement 2: Too much reporting on negative events, like government mistakes and corruption, only harms the
country.
23
80
73 68
15
23 28
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
2008 2011 2014
Pe
rce
nt
Media checks government Avoid negative reporting
Media effectiveness in revealing corruption | by
education level
Respondents were asked: In this country, how effective is the news media in revealing
government mistakes and corruption?
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16% 16% 18% 16%
70%
82% 81% 76%
15%
2% 1%
8%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Primary or below Secondary Tertiary Total
Not at all / not very effective Somewhat / very effective Don't know
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• A majority of Kenyans perceive increased corruption in the country over the past one year.
• A majority of Kenyans believe that effective integration of ordinary citizens in the fight against corruption can make a significant impact.
• The role of the media in revealing government mistakes and corruption
cannot be overemphasized as it provides essential checks to the government through investigations and corruption exposures.
• The culture of not reporting bribery incidents to the authorities is undermining the fight against corruption in Kenya. Underlying factors for this non-reporting should be explored.
• Although the performance of the ruling coalition is perceived to be poor in handling the fight against corruption, a majority of Kenyans still feel it is better placed to fight corruption than the opposition parties.
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Conclusion