The Kenyan Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) was established by President Mwai under the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Act of 2011 to help combat graft in Kenya but recently the country has seen soaring corruption in nearly every aspect of society. The EACC is now chaired by Archbishop (Rtd) Eliud Wabukala, previously the head of the Anglican Church in Kenya and Gafcon Chairman until June 2016, and under his leadership has adopted a new way of fighting corruption.

Kenya has long been plagued by corruption, with government, businesses, the church and civic society leaders caught up in its web. Kenya was given a rating of 28 out of 100 in a 2017 report by Transparency International and has been ranked at 143 out of 180 nations, one of the lowest rankings for East Africa.

The country has been sinking into more and more debt, and the percentage of public service transactions involving bribes has risen from 46% to 62% in the last two years.  The top three public services accepting bribes are the local chiefs and village elders, the police and the Registrar of Persons department.

The service said to be most prone to bribes is the provision of birth certificates, so even though a woman has carried a baby for nine months, she might find it difficult to prove she gave birth to a Kenyan unless money is handed over.

A recent report from the EACC states that Kenyans are scared to report corruption for investigation, for fear that they might be harassed. So the EACC has taken a different approach to combat the corruption which the country faces.  It’s plan is to change the culture of society by using the Bible to show Kenyans what God’s desire is for society. In September, the EACC released a Bible-based study guideline to educate Kenyans on the merits of integrity, justice, honesty and patriotism.  It states that the aim is to:

“Help Kenyans discover God's position on corruption and his direction on living a corruption free life… Every member of our society has an opportunity to contribute to the success of the war against corruption. Regardless of your status in the society, you can make a difference. The Bible Study Guide inspires us to act and to believe our country can be free from corruption.” 

The EACC in the past has successfully prosecuted several senior leaders over graft charges so it is vital in bringing about change in Kenyan society, but there’s a long way to go.

The bible-based campaign led by Archbishop Wabukala has come under fire from secularists who do not think that teaching ethics and values will address the problem, but changing the culture of society has been shown by the World Bank to be a successful strategy.