Reports note persistent corruption

High levels of corruption continue to persist in Kenya despite various efforts made to fight the phenomenon, according to two newly released reports.

A new probe by the "anti-corruption police squad", which President Daniel arap Moi appointed last year to prosecute corruption cases, this week said it had unearthed "massive corruption" within the traffic police department. According to the 28-page report, which has taken more than a year to compile, negative work ethics, apathy and disillusionment prompted traffic police officers to engage in corrupt practices.

Launching the report on Tuesday, Kenyan Police Commissioner Philemon Abong'o cautioned police to "clean our house" before setting out to fight corruption in other government departments. "We will make it extremely difficult for police officers to engage in corruption or take bribes," the 'Daily Nation' newspaper on Wednesday quoted him as saying.

The report follows last week's launch of Transparency International's (TI) Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) 2002, which cites Kenya as one of the world's most corrupt countries, where political elites and unscrupulous investors "kill sustainable growth in its tracks".

The CPI 2002, launched in Berlin, Germany, on 28 August, included Kenya among the 10 most corrupt countries. "Political elites and their cronies continue to take kickbacks at every opportunity," the report said of these countries. "Hand-in-glove with corrupt business people, they are trapping whole nations in poverty and hampering sustainable development."

In Kenya, which is currently experiencing one of its worst economic performances since independence, charges of corruption and bribery - that have dogged the government since the early 1990s - have soured relations with bilateral and multilateral donors, who have frequently withdrawn support and set stringent conditions for resuming loans.

In December 2000, the government dissolved the Kenya Anti-Corruption Authority (KACA), a body which according to TI, had originally been set up in response to pressure from the IMF and World Bank.

In August 2001, the Kenyan parliament failed to pass the Constitutional (Amendment) Bill, aimed at re-establishing KACA. The move drew a sharp reaction from donors who promptly suspended aid and have made its resumption conditional on the establishment of an independent anti-corruption body.