Bribery highest among police force

The Kenyan police retained their position in 2002, for the second year running, as the most corrupt officials in the country, Transparency International (TI) announced on Friday. Research conducted by the NGO in June and July of 2002 had shown that on average each ordinary Kenyan had been forced to bribe the police 4.5 times per month, paying them an average of 1,270 Kenyan shillings (Kshs, over US $16) over the month, TI reported. Over 95 percent of dealings with the police, the Ministry of Lands, and the Forestry Department had resulted in a bribe being extracted, which was marginally better than Kisumu City Council, where 99 percent of dealings led to money being handed over. "We asked ordinary Kenyans on the street whom they bribe, how much they pay, and what it is for," David Ndii, research adviser to TI told reporters. After the police, the Immigration Department, the Department of Defence, the Forestry Department and the Kenya Ports Authority ranked second to fifth on the bribery index. Ndii said two out of every three encounters with officials in Kenya resulted in a bribe being handed over, which he described as an "extremely high" incidence. On average, Kenyans paid a total of Kshs 3,900 in bribes per month in 2002, he added, which rose to Kshs 4,900 in urban areas. Significantly, however, the incidence of bribery had significantly declined since the previous survey had been conducted in 2001, Ndii noted. "The adverse publicity and strong public reaction following the release of the survey last year seems to have had a positive impact on levels of impunity," he said. In 2001, Kenyans living in urban areas had been paying an average of as much as Kshs 8,000 per month in bribes. The biggest bribes in 2002 were paid to the Immigration Department at Kshs 22,523 per bribe paid by urban Kenyans. Next came the Department of Defence, with an average of over Kshs 21,000 per bribe paid by rural Kenyans. A large recruitment drive had led to people paying members of the department to be considered eligible, said Ndii. Notably, the post office, which scored badly in 2001, "seems to have been cleaned up", he said. By contrast, in addition to the Defence Department, the Forestry Department and Kisumu City Council had got much worse. A logging ban introduced in 2002 had resulted in people paying bribes to the Forestry Department to continue conducting business, while land allocations had led to money exchanging hands in the City Council. "The poor are significantly more vulnerable than the non-poor," added Ndii, noting that those earning less than Kshs 5,000 per month were most likely to be affected. In total, TI surveyed 2,321 Kenyans at "household level". The survey results therefore reflected bribes that "ordinary Kenyans" were forced to pay, and not those paid in higher circles, he added.