The most recent reporting has shown that the DPP has cleared a large number of case files forwarded by EACC, leaving only a handful of corruption cases proceeding to prosecution. For a country that has grappled with entrenched graft for decades, this development hits hard on an already fatigued public conscience.
When dozens of corruption files are closed-most of them without robust public explanations the vacuum of information is quickly filled by suspicion. Kenyans, long accustomed to scandals that come to quiet fruition, begin to assume the worst: that justice is negotiable, selective and susceptible to political expediency.
Prosecution is not a symbolic act but the lifeblood of any living system of justice. Cases have to be investigated seriously, prosecuted impartially and brought to a conclusion in a timely fashion. When year after year goes by without serious convictions, it becomes commonplace for the public to assume that the system is built to punish petty offenders promptly while shielding the powerful. This presumption of impunity is corrosive. It reduces the political cost of corruption, emboldens risky behavior on the part of public officials and saps the rule-of-law incentives that ought to govern public service.
This is not an abstract governance problem as it also manifests in hospitals without medicine, roads that crumble a few months after construction, stalled development projects, and inflated procurement contracts. Where the perceived risk of punishment is low, officials are emboldened. The accountability ecosystem weakens, with citizens bearing the social and economic losses.
Action on this goes way beyond rhetoric. Kenya needs procedural and systemic reforms that strengthen the integrity of prosecutions. Investigative capacity must be strengthened to including modern forensic capabilities, digital evidence handling and robust asset-tracing units. The chief reason why many corruption cases collapse is weak evidence, improper chain of custody protocols or reliance on testimony without corroboration.
Witness protection should be treated as an integral pillar of prosecution rather than an optional add-on. Corruption cases frequently involve powerful individuals making witnesses who fear retaliation far less likely to testify. A credible and well-funded witness protection system can do much to increase the likelihood of successful convictions.
Functional case management systems are imperative. Delays whether due to missing files, non-cooperative investigators or administrative bottlenecks lead to interference of evidence, fading memories and loopholes that can be used by the defending counsel to their advantage. Technology-driven tracking systems can ensure accountability at every step in a case’s life cycle.
Transparency is equally paramount. Where files are closed, the DPP should issue publicly accessible summaries explaining the basis for the decision whether due to insufficient evidence, jurisdictional issues, hostile witnesses or compromised investigations. Redactions can protect sensitive information but silence only fosters mistrust and the perception of secrecy.
Strengthened inter-agency coordination between the police, EACC, DPP and Judiciary would also reduce gaps that often cause high-value cases to collapse. Insulating anti-corruption institutions from political interference remains important. Ultimately, public confidence is what really drives any anti-corruption agenda.
Governments depend on citizens to pay taxes, abide by the laws, support reforms and meaningfully contribute to national development. But citizens respond with confidence only when they believe that the system is fair and that wrongdoing has consequences no matter the perpetrator’s status. Without visible, credible prosecutions, even the most elaborate anti-corruption frameworks remain paper tigers-impressive in design but powerless in practice.
Familiar crossroads face Kenya. Before its institutions is a basic but consequential decision to choose transparency and accountability or risk further entrenching public cynicism, allowing corruption to remain the principal driver of political and economic outcomes. The country needs prosecutions that are not only expedient and clean but also convincingly just.
