US Ambassador to Kenya Robert Godec has warned that corruption is a crisis in Kenya, adding that officials who steal from the public coffers must be prosecuted.
“Corruption threatens Kenya’s economic growth, the provision of government services and security,” he said.
Kenyan newspapers have been dominated by strings of corruption scandals in the past month.
Godec’s criticism follows widely publicised cases including reports of massive inflation of government purchases in the devolution ministry and another where officials in Bungoma County in the Western region were reported to have bought wheelbarrows at a cost of $1000each.
The US is one of Kenya’s largest aid donors.
The East African country is ranked 145th out of 174 on Transparency International’s annual corruption index.
Godec urged for zero tolerance for corruption, saying that public funds must be used for their intended purposes and not end up in the pockets of officials who betray the public trust.
When the US President Barack Obama visited Kenya in July, he harshly condemned the vice and asked the government to put in place strict measures to curb it.
