Corruption remains one of the major challenges facing Kenya, with public services such as birth certificate applications and jail release records recording the highest number of bribes, according to a survey conducted by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC).
The Kenya National Gender and Corruption Survey, 2025, reveals that seeking a birth certificate is the public service most frequently associated with bribery, with 23.0% of respondents reporting having paid a bribe.
EACC Report Shows Kenyans Bribe Most for Birth Certificates, Jail Release
This is followed by the release of a person from jail or prison at 19.2%, and paying for medical visits, examinations, or interventions at 12.8%.
Other services attracting bribes include ID card applications (12.3%) and public utilities (10.0%).
Less common but still reported cases involve seeking a passport (4.9%), driving license (3.8%), admission to public schools (2.9%), and tax declaration or exemption (2.6%).
Meanwhile, bribes for job applications in the public service accounted for 2.2%, while government contracts or public procurement accounted for 1.5%.
At the same time, building permits had 1.2%, promotions in the public service 1.0%, and other unspecified services (2.5%).
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Average bribes Paid per Public Service
The national average bribe paid to public officials increased from Ksh 3,257 in 2005 to Ksh 4,878 in 2024 and to Ksh 6,724 in 2025.
EACC observed that seeking employment in government institutions attracted the highest bribe amount, at Ksh 85,033, followed by obtaining government contracts through public procurement (Ksh 24,020) and seeking a passport (Ksh 12,514).
The least bribe was paid for seeking promotion in a government institution (Ksh 1,626), a birth certificate (Ksh 1,729), and a national identity card (Ksh 1,935).
Why Kenyans Didn’t Pay Bribes
The three main reasons why citizens refused to pay a bribe to public officials included the fact that they could not afford the requested gift or payment (44.7%), it was the right thing to do (31.9%), and that the service seekers had other options of getting what they wanted (13.1%).
46% of service seekers who refused to pay bribes to public officials did not face any consequences.
About one-third (36.5%) suffered negative consequences, while some 17.8% were waiting to see if any consequences would occur.
According to the EACC report, lower-income citizens pay a larger share of their income in bribes.
The poor, vulnerable, and marginalized populations are particularly susceptible to victimization because they depend more heavily on state services and are perceived as having less power to resist corrupt demands.
The overwhelming majority of bribes (84.3 percent) are paid before services are rendered, indicating a system of gatekeeping corruption that prevents access until payments are made.
Cash remains the dominant form of bribery at 72.2 percent, followed by mobile money transfers at 10.5 percent.
Rural residents pay cash bribes at a rate of 77.3 percent compared to 65.5 percent for urban residents, while men pay cash bribes at 78.8 percent compared to 63.1 percent for women.
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EAC disclosed that most female respondents gave bribes to civil registration officials (30.8%), while most male respondents gave bribes to police officers (41.6%).
Bribes Paid for Services by Age Group
Among service seekers aged 18-24 years, half (51.4%) offered bribes to civil registration officials, while 41.6% offered bribes to police officers.
A similar pattern was observed, with 42.2% and 32.6% of 25-34-year-olds and 29.9% and 26.4% of 50-64-year-olds reporting offering bribes to police officers and civil registration officials, respectively.
Those aged 35-49 offered bribes to police officers (38.4%) and land registry officers (30.0%).
Among older respondents (65 years and above), 37.0 percent offered bribes to immigration officers, while 33.0 percent gave to NTSA officials. The national average bribe increased by 38 percent from KSh 4,878 in 2024 to KSh 6,724 in 2025.
Citizens report paying bribes primarily to speed up procedures (32.1 %), because it was the only way to access services (27.8 %), and to avoid problems with authorities (12.2 %).
Police officers exhibit the highest prevalence of bribery at 35.5 percent, followed by civil registration officials (30.0 %), NTSA officers (25.4 %), land registry officers (23.3 %), and registration of persons officers (21.2%).
