Government Spokesperson Charles Owino has blamed Kenya's growing corruption crisis on changing social values, saying police officers are often condemned for refusing bribes while those who break the law expect to buy their way out of trouble. He argued that lasting reforms will only succeed if society changes its attitude towards integrity and stops celebrating wealth acquired through dishonest means.
Speaking during an interview on Radio Generation on Thursday, Owino said the National Police Service reflects the character of the society it serves, insisting that corruption within the service cannot be addressed without first confronting the culture that encourages it.
"Anything you see in the police is a reflection of society," Owino said.
He explained that many motorists knowingly drive uninsured vehicles or vehicles fitted with worn-out tyres, only to attempt to bribe police officers after being stopped for breaking the law.
"And when he gets police, people call me, tell me, huyu polisi hata nimejaribu kupatia mia tano amekata nisaidie," he said.
According to Owino, officers who reject bribes are often mocked instead of being praised for doing the right thing.
"Now that one who refuses to take a bribe now becomes a bad police officer... hata anaitwa mjinga, atakufa maskini," he said.
He said the same attitude has spread across the public service, where people who spend their careers earning an honest salary are viewed as failures because they retire without unexplained wealth.
"Instead of appreciating a person who worked well, who just earned his salary, and is home with his little pension, we say the way he was stupid. It's a culture that we have developed over time," he said.
Owino rejected the view that corruption in the police service can be solved only through better recruitment or higher salaries, arguing that the vice affects many professions across the country.
"Who told you that doctors, engineers, are not corrupt?" he asked.
Even so, he admitted that police officers face greater temptation because of the powers they exercise and the daily contact they have with members of the public.
"The police has more power and also more temptation," he said.
Owino also challenged Kenyans to rethink how they view policing, saying many parents discourage their brightest children from joining the National Police Service while at the same time demanding better policing.
"The police' biggest problem is society," he said. "It is very rare to find a parent bringing in his best child to become a policeman."
He called on the public to back reforms aimed at improving police welfare, including better housing, improved pay and stronger recruitment standards, saying such measures should go hand in hand with a wider change in public attitudes towards integrity.
His remarks come against the backdrop of findings by the Kenya National Gender and Corruption Survey 2025, conducted by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission in partnership with the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics.
The survey found that the National Police Service recorded the highest bribery prevalence among public institutions, with 35.5 per cent of citizens seeking police services reporting that they paid a bribe.
The average amount paid was Sh4,656, making police officers the public officials most frequently linked to bribery in Kenya