A survey conducted by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) has revealed that Busia County leads in the counties where one is likely to be asked for a bribe.

The National Ethics and Corruption Survey (NECS) 2023 whose aim is to provide data on corruption and unethical conduct to generate indicators focusing on trends, magnitude, likelihood, prevalence, and impact of corruption and unethical conduct in the country also ranked Nyamira as the top county where one is likely to offer a bribe.

Busia, Baringo, Nairobi, Nakuru and Machakos Counties are the five most bribery-prone counties. This means those seeking services in these counties are likely to be asked for bribes to get the services. 

Each time a service is sought in Busia County one is likely to be asked for a bribe 2.02 times. Each time a service is sought in Baringo, Nairobi, Nakuru and Machakos counties one is likely to be asked for a bribe 1.34 times, 1.12 times, 1.11 times and 1.09 times, respectively, the survey showed.

The least counties where one is likely to be asked to pay a bribe for services are Nandi (0.50), Nyeri (0.49), Vihiga (0.47), Embu (0.43) and lastly Lamu (0.40).

On the prevalence of bribe payment in counties, Nyamira, Baringo, Siaya, Bungoma and Turkana are the five counties where bribery is most prevalent with all (100%) respondents who sought services in these counties paying a bribe.

The last five counties where one is not likely to pay a bribe for services include Taita Taveta (48%), Vihiga (47%), Mandera (46%), Embu (44%) and lastly Nyeri (40%).

On the impact of bribe payment in counties, the survey revealed that bribe payment had the highest impact in Bungoma County. Each time a person paid a bribe in Bungoma, they were 1.14 times more likely to receive the service than if they did not pay the bribe. Samburu, Kakamega, Kisumu and Nyandarua made the top five list.

However, one is likely to miss out on services even after paying a bribe in the counties of Nyeri, Mandera, Embu, Marsabit and Kericho counties respectively.

On average, respondents paid the largest amount of bribe in West Pokot (Ksh.56,695) followed by Nairobi (Ksh.37,768), Murang’a (Ksh.18,378), Kisii (Ksh.16,810), Uasin Gishu (Ksh.11,136), Kitui (Ksh.9,849), Busia (Ksh.7,468) and Tharaka-Nithi (Ksh.7,041) Counties.

Respondents paid the least amount of bribe in Marsabit (Ksh.902), Kericho (Ksh681), Kakamega (Ksh.538), Tana River (Ksh.505) and Kilifi (Ksh.162).

In the NECS 2023 Report, 60% of the respondents were dissatisfied with integrity, transparency and accountability in public service delivery in Kenya.

Corruption was ranked the fourth most pressing problem facing the country after high cost of living, unemployment and poverty.

Overall, 34.4% of respondents who sought government services were asked to pay a bribe with 28.3% of the respondents paying.