Kenyans believe the country under President William Ruto’s leadership is heading in the wrong direction, as revealed by the Africa Centre for Open Governance (AfriCOG) in its final report of 2024 titled “Wrong direction Corruption in Kenya 2022-2024.”
The report details the mechanics of serious instances of corruption in Kenya over the past three years. Already, the government’s room for manoeuvre is shrinking in a context of debt distress and the growing demographic pressures exemplified by the Gen Z uprising and the renewed engagement by the youth – constituting the greatest challenge to presidential authority in Kenya in decades.
“Despite heartening displays of individual courage and integrity, corruption continues to deepen, scandals multiply, profligate wastage continues, and institutional decline persists as checks and balances are eroded,” AfriCOG Executive Director Gladwell Otieno, says.
Ms Otieno added: “With a pliant parliament, Ruto seems set to pass any legislation he wants – including tax hikes and the tough measures necessary for him to try and meet the revenue targets set by his government’s financiers. However, these laws are causing economic hardship and, in an environment of widespread corruption and impunity, public discontent and mistrust are intensifying.”
This comes as AfriCOG’s earlier report on “State Capture: Inside Kenya’s Inability to Fight Corruption” explained why President Uhuru Kenyatta’s anti-corruption efforts would fail. The report confirms that State Capture did not end with Kenyatta’s exit and indeed appears to be deepening under President Ruto.
President Ruto inherited a precarious economic outlook that was described by his chief economic advisor, David Ndii, as near ‘liquidation’ when he took charge on September 13, 2022. The only way out was in reducing corruption and increasing revenue. But Ruto’s preoccupation instead became political survival, which he rooted in an administration built on reward and patronage. Today Ruto is satisfying a relatively small circle of cronies, many discredited, at the cost of his putative ‘hustler’ movement” – the poor, youthful base mobilized to elect him on the belief the new president would put money in their pockets and break the ethno-political ‘dynasties’ mould of Kenyan politics.
“Our report shows that the repurposing of the State has seen shocking manipulation of laws and policy to enable shady concessions, public budgets, dubious contracts, appointments to office, and generally facilitates a profligate and wasteful system for the benefit of a few,” says Ms Otieno.
