The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) has has rolled out a series of major legal and policy reforms designed to speed up Kenya’s fight against graft, including fast-tracking corruption cases and expanding investigative powers across financial platforms.
The Anti-Corruption Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2025, outlines major proposals that would drastically shorten the timeline for corruption trials and appeals to six months. It also seeks to give investigators wider access to mobile money records and non-bank financial institutions to close loopholes exploited by corrupt networks.
If passed, the bill would also impose a 10-year ban from public tenders on individuals convicted of corruption, criminalize influence peddling and introduce stronger protections for whistle-blowers.
Speaking during the launch of EACC’s 2024/2025 annual report, Chairperson David Oginde said the past year marked “significant steps” in strengthening Kenya’s legal and policy environment for combating graft.
He pointed to the enactment of the Conflict-of-Interest Act, describing it as a turning point in addressing unethical conduct before it escalates into outright corruption.
“This landmark law grants the Commission clearer authority and enhanced tools to detect and address conflicts of interest, one of the most pervasive gateways to corruption,” Oginde said.
“It empowers us to intervene early, before unethical conduct escalates into criminality.”
Oginde also highlighted the Anti-Corruption Guiding Framework adopted by the National Council on the Administration of Justice, saying it had improved coordination among institutions and accelerated case processing.
He noted that digitizing public procurement through the new e-GP system had introduced a level of openness in a historically opaque sector where “the public stands to lose the most.”
“These reforms affirm a simple truth: when the policy and legal environment is strengthened, the fight against corruption gains real momentum,” Oginde said.
The Commission said its partnerships with state agencies, civil society groups, the private sector, the media and international bodies expanded significantly in the past year, helping reinforce its anti-graft operations.
Oginde raised fresh concern over the surge in falsified academic and professional certificates, saying the trend threatens to undermine Kenya’s merit-based systems. He said the issue featured prominently at the recent National Ethics and Integrity Conference.
EACC also intensified youth engagement through integrity dialogues and digital campaigns, which officials said were shifting public attitudes toward accountability.
At the same time, the Commission stepped up corruption-prevention efforts in high-risk institutions such as the National Police Service, Kenya Power, the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) and Kenya Prisons Service.
CEO Abdi Mohamud said collaboration through platforms such as the Kenya Leadership and Integrity Forum (KLIF) had helped bring institutions together around shared anti-corruption priorities.
“Further, the Commission continues to strengthen the Kenya Leadership and Integrity Forum (KLIF) and the National Integrity Academy (NIACa) as strategic avenues for implementing the corruption preventive mandate,” he said.
“We have, equally, navigated through various challenges by staying true to our vision of promoting integrity and combating corruption through law enforcement, prevention and education.”
Looking ahead, the Commission plans to intensify monitoring of major government projects, crack down on bribery at service points, recover unexplained wealth, deepen multi-agency efforts and scale up public awareness campaigns, especially those targeting the youth and the media. These goals fall under the EACC Strategic Plan 2023–2028.
Mohamud stressed that the reforms come at a crucial time, with Kenya under pressure to strengthen its anti–money laundering and counter-terrorism financing systems to facilitate removal from the FATF Grey List.
“It is important to point out, the current implementation cycle (FY 2025/2026), comes at a pivotal moment, when there’s heightened call for the country to strengthen its AML/CFT interventions to facilitate delisting from the FATF Grey List,” he said.
“This places an enormous responsibility on the Commission especially on matters money-laundering.”
He urged all EACC directorates to fast-track money-laundering investigations and ensure no case stalls.
Mohamud credited sustained government backing and cooperation from justice institutions, civil society and the media for the Commission’s progress.
“Our success depends on your sustained vigilance,” he said, calling on all stakeholders to study the report and hold public institutions to the highest standards.
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