NAIROBI, Kenya – Weighbridges — long seen as hotbeds of bribery — are now the focus of a new anti-corruption drive by the Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) in partnership with the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC).
The two agencies this week rolled out a countrywide sensitisation programme targeting weighbridge staff and managers.
The initiative is designed to equip employees with a deeper understanding of the Anti-Bribery Act 2016, the Anti-Bribery Procedures 2022, and KeNHA’s internal guidelines for combating corruption.
KeNHA said the campaign seeks to close loopholes that have enabled bribery, overloading, and collusion between transporters and rogue officials.
“This exercise demonstrates the authority’s commitment to promoting transparency in the execution of its mandate and ensuring that loopholes that could be exploited against the war on corruption are sealed,” KeNHA noted in a statement.
The sensitisation drive will cover all weighbridges in the country, focusing on compliance with anti-bribery laws and strengthening internal systems for detecting and reporting corruption.
For years, weighbridges have been synonymous with graft, with truckers and transporters allegedly paying bribes to avoid penalties or to push through overloaded trucks.
Investigations have often pointed to entrenched networks involving both junior officers and senior staff.
By raising awareness and enforcing clear accountability procedures, the KeNHA–EACC initiative is seen as a step towards restoring integrity in road enforcement operations.
The Anti-Bribery Act 2016 criminalises both the giving and receiving of bribes and requires all institutions — public and private — to put in place adequate procedures to prevent bribery.
The 2022 procedures and KeNHA’s own framework further provide channels for reporting, monitoring, and resolving corruption cases.
KeNHA said the exercise signals a “significant stride” in safeguarding Kenya’s road sector, where corruption has long undermined safety and infrastructure sustainability.
