The Commission on Administrative Justice has exposed systemic corruption within the Kenya Prisons Service, involving senior officers who allegedly solicited for and received bribes in exchange for recruitment, deployment, and other favours.
The Ombudsman’s findings emanated from a review of the department’s Quarter Two Performance Contracting returns for the 2025/2026 financial year submitted to the Ministry of Interior.
Twelve (12) out of 17 complaints reported during the period were corruption-related.
Admission of guilt
The Ombudsman revealed that several implicated officers admitted to receiving money, refunded part or all of the amounts, or acknowledged wrongdoing during internal inquiries.
Some of the admitted cases included an officer identified as CIP S.K, alongside SGT S.N, who acknowledged receiving Sh600,000 to facilitate recruitment, refunding Sh500,000, with Sh100,000 still outstanding and another officer, PC B.K, who received Sh870,000 for recruitment assistance and committed to repaying the amount within two months.
The list also has CPL M.M who admitted receiving Sh450,000 for a recruitment promise, refunding Sh200,000 and committing to repay the remaining Sh250,000 and SSP R.K.K who fully refunded Sh800,000 after admitting to a recruitment-related bribe.
Other cases involved amounts ranging from Sh371,150 to nearly Sh1 million, with several officers making partial refunds and committing to repayment deadlines stretching into January 2026.
Legal accountability
The Commission faulted the State Department for Correctional Services for attempting to administratively handle corruption complaints, noting that it lacks the legal mandate to conclusively resolve such matters that fall within the EACC jurisdiction.
The agency stressed that officers’ admission to corruption amounted to gross misconduct regardless of whether criminal proceedings were ongoing or not.
Refunds or admissions, the Ombudsman noted, do not absolve criminal liability.
“The Commission directs the PS, State Department of Correctional Services to take immediate and appropriate administrative action in strict compliance with due process requirements,” CAJ Chairperson Charles Dulo said in the release.
Some of the cases where officers denied wrongdoing, or where facts were disputed, were referred to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) for further investigation.
Broadened investigations
In one of the instances, a complainant allegedly paid Sh3 million to an officer who promised to secure jobs for four youths in the Kenya Defence Forces, while another case involved Sh800,000 allegedly paid to secure army employment for a spouse.
The Commission stressed that disciplinary action should proceed independently of criminal investigations by EACC or DCI and that Kenyans who paid bribes must equally be held culpable for the offence.
“Persons who paid or offered money in furtherance of the corrupt acts complained of are therefore equally culpable and ought to be subjected to appropriate investigation and action in accordance with Section 5 of the Anti-Bribery Act 2016,” he added.
Dulo said the commission had written to the Inspector General of Police and forwarded names of individuals who paid bribes to DCI for urgent investigation, with the IG required to submit a status report to the agency within 60 days.
The commission reiterated its mandate to oversee public service delivery and enforce accountability across government institutions.
