The National Integrity Alliance (NIA) has urged Parliament to fast-track the Whistleblower Protection Bill 2024, warning that continued delays leave whistleblowers and journalists at the mercy of harassment, retaliation, and costly lawsuits that shield corruption.
In a statement issued on September 24, 2025, the citizen-centered integrity coalition raised alarm over what it termed as the growing weaponization of the judicial system against those who expose graft and abuse of office.
“We are deeply concerned that individuals who speak out in the public interest continue to face an array of retaliatory actions in the form of defamation suits, regulatory complaints, employment disciplinary action at work, and civil claims,” NIA said.
The Alliance highlighted the ongoing cases against whistleblower Sankale and former Citizen TV journalists Aisha Mwilu and Waihiga Mwaura, whose 2019 investigation The Mara Heist exposed corruption at Maasai Mara University.
“These lawsuits reflect a broader concern and dangerous pattern of legal retaliation designed to suppress accountability, deter future whistleblowing, and intimidate the journalistic pursuit of the truth,” the coalition stated.
NIA further stressed that many such suits are filed not to win on merit but to silence and burden critics with heavy legal costs until they abandon their cause.
“This is a hindrance, not only in the fight against other forms of government wrongdoings, but specifically the fight against corruption which is deeply rooted in most public institutions,” the statement read in part.
According to the Alliance, the delay in enacting the Whistleblower Protection Bill is not merely a procedural matter but a failure to safeguard those who uphold accountability. “The delays in having the legislation enacted continue to expose potential whistleblowers to an unconducive environment leading to silence, continuous corruption and mismanagement while eroding public trust,” the coalition added.
NIA also called on the Judiciary to dismiss frivolous suits targeting whistleblowers and journalists, while urging media institutions to stand in defense of reporters facing retaliation. “NIA condemns the continuous intimidation of whistleblowers who expose corruption, especially in public institutions, and calls on the media sector to protect journalists facing retaliation,” it concluded.
The Alliance is made up of Transparency International Kenya (TI-Kenya), Inuka Kenya Ni Sisi!, the Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC), and The Institute of Social Accountability (TISA).