Kenya’s key public institutions are struggling to win the confidence of citizens, with none of the seven institutions surveyed by TIFA Research reaching 40% in combined levels of “a lot” and “some” trust.
The judiciary ranked highest at 36%, followed by county government leadership at 31% and the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) at 30%, according to a national survey conducted in June 2026 and released on September 9.
The presidency, police and political parties each recorded 29%, while Parliament ranked lowest at 27%, pointing to a broad gap between public institutions and the people they serve.
TIFA said the findings point to low confidence across the institutions assessed.
“Trust remains below 40% across all institutions overall, signaling a broad institutional confidence deficit.”
Respondents were asked how much trust they had in different leaders and institutions, with the choices being “a lot of trust, some trust, only a little trust, or no trust at all.”
The detailed findings show that low levels of confidence were common across the institutions.
For the IEBC, 29% of respondents said they had a lot of trust in the electoral body, while 24% said they had some trust. However, 27% said they had very little trust and 18% said they had no trust at all, while three per cent were unsure.
Political parties performed worse, with only nine per cent of respondents saying they had a lot of trust and 26% reporting some trust.
On the other hand, 33% said they had very little trust in political parties and 28% said they had no trust at all.
The police received a lot of trust from 26% of respondents, while another 26% said they had some trust. Meanwhile, 31% said they had very little trust and 18% said they had no trust at all.
The findings come amid concerns over Kenyans’ experiences with crime and their willingness to report cases to the police.
Eight per cent of respondents said they had personally experienced crime during the first half of 2026.
The South Rift recorded the highest proportion of people reporting that they had been victims of crime at 14%, followed by Nairobi and Lower Eastern at 13% each.
The lowest proportions were recorded in Northern and Central Rift, where three per cent of respondents in each region said they had experienced crime.
The latest TIFA findings are also in line with earlier surveys showing falling confidence in some of Kenya’s public institutions.
In September 2025, Afrobarometer reported that trust in the presidency had fallen to 45%, from 72% in 2014. Trust in Parliament stood at 44%, while 50% of respondents said they trusted the courts and 36% expressed trust in the police.
A separate Afrobarometer survey released in June 2026 found that 55% of Kenyans were somewhat or very confident that ordinary citizens could obtain justice through the courts.
However, fewer than half of those surveyed believed they could afford to take a legal problem to court, while only 41% expected their cases to be resolved on time.
TIFA conducted its latest survey between June 13 and 22 through face-to-face interviews with 2,048 randomly selected Kenyan adults aged 18 and above.
The survey covered all 47 counties and was designed to provide a national picture of Kenyans’ views on economic, policy and institutional issues.
The sample was spread across nine zones: Central Rift, Coast, Lower Eastern, Mt Kenya, Nairobi, Northern, Nyanza, South Rift and Western.
Most interviews were conducted in Swahili and English.
TIFA reported a margin of error of plus or minus 2.18 percentage points, with larger margins applying to sub-samples.
The research firm said the findings reflect the views and circumstances of Kenyans at the time the interviews were conducted and should be understood within the stated margin of error.