Thieves In Kenyatta’s Govt Are Fewer, But Stealing Big — Prosecutor
The theft of public money in Kenya has more than doubled between 2017 and 2019, the country’s prosecution said in a report.
According to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecution (ODPP) annual report, East Africa’s largest economy lost about $1.4 billion to runaway corruption in 2019 from $671 million recorded in 2017.
While the amount of money has increased, the ODPP said the number of corruption cases have declined from 58 in 2017 to 26 in 2019 and two during the first six months of this year (2020).
This means that corrupt cartels, deeply rooted in the Uhuru Kenyatta administration, are now targeting large sums from the national purse.
In September, Kenyatta pledged to make government spending more transparent in a bid to temper a political backlash over allegations that contracts awarded for example to combat the coronavirus, among other were tainted by graft.
Kenya’s budget gap is at 840.6 billion shillings ($7.8 billion) in the current fiscal year, or 7.5% of gross domestic product, and is partly financed via net foreign borrowing of 347 billion shillings.