NAIROBI, Kenya – Deputy President Kithure Kindiki has warned that corruption remains the single biggest obstacle to Kenya’s progress, saying it has infiltrated every level of government and society.
In a statement, Kindiki said graft has “muddied the present and is stealing the future,” noting that it has significantly crept into the three arms of government, devolved units, civil service, academia, civil society and even religious institutions.
“Just like the war our nation has waged on poverty over the decades, an uncompromising, long-term and non-political strategy to defeat corruption, especially grand corruption, will elevate Kenya to the first world in a generation,” he said.
His remarks come barely weeks after President William Ruto accused some MPs of taking bribes to block the recently enacted anti-money laundering law.
Speaking during a joint UDA–ODM parliamentary group meeting on August 18, Ruto claimed legislators on a key committee collected Sh10 million each to frustrate the law, warning that such practices were destroying the credibility of Parliament.
“By virtue of the position I hold today, I am a consumer of raw intelligence. I know what’s going on. There are people who are collecting money in the name of Parliament, but most of the time that money never gets there — it ends up with a few individuals,” the President said.
The anti-graft message has also been echoed in the health sector, where Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale has launched a sweeping crackdown on fraudulent claims draining billions from the Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF).
Duale disclosed that out of Sh82.7 billion in claims submitted, Sh10.6 billion had been rejected due to fraud or non-compliance, while another Sh2.1 billion is under investigation.
He warned that hospitals, doctors and patients found culpable will face the full force of the law.
“Our work has just begun. We will not rest until every Kenyan has access to quality, affordable and dignified healthcare — free from the burden of fraud,” Duale said.
