Chief Justice Martha Koome has issued a strong warning against corruption in the judiciary, calling on Kenyans to abandon the entrenched culture of offering bribes for services that are already free.
She spoke on Thursday, October 2, 2025, while delivering the keynote address at the 5th St. Paul’s University Annual International Research Conference.
The Chief Justice emphasized that the Judiciary has set up systems, structures, and mechanisms to ensure integrity in service delivery. She noted that every day, court users are reminded that judicial services are provided at no cost.
“We must always say no to corruption. We’ve been trying to do that in the judiciary by setting up systems, structure,s and mechanisms, including an address every day you come to court, there will be someone explaining that the services that we give are free. There is no room for corruption, and if anybody has asked you for money, it’s a criminal offense,” she said.
Koome lamented that despite visible signs declaring courts as corruption-free zones, the culture of bribery persists among Kenyans.
She pointed out that many still feel compelled to carry something when seeking services, equating it to religious practices. “Kenyans have a culture of always carrying something, and we tell them, coming to court is not like going to church or to a temple or a mosque where you are supposed to take sadaka,” she remarked.
“We don’t receive, but I don’t know when they can stop this habit. It’s a bad habit. It’s a bad culture, which requires us as a country to engage in this difficult conversation and say no to corruption, no to bribery, no to shortcuts.”
She warned that corruption undermines justice and threatens sustainable development, arguing that such practices are unsustainable and harmful to the nation’s progress.
“These habits are not sustainable at all. We cannot definitely sustain the corruption indexes that we are experiencing,” she cautioned.
Koome urged collective responsibility in uprooting corruption, insisting that justice must remain anchored in integrity, accountability, and fairness.
She said the judiciary will continue reinforcing anti-corruption measures, but stressed that lasting change requires the public to reject the culture of bribes and shortcuts.