Corruption in Kenya - Individual Attitudes and Actions Towards Corruption in Nakuru, Kenya

Abstract: Kenya is one of the most corrupt countries in the world due to a long legacy of corrupt leaders. It is so visible that it is impossible for a citizen or even a visitor to deny its presence. By travelling to Nakuru, Kenya, my aim was to explore individual attitudes and actions towards corruption and to see if these attitudes and actions affected the survival of the patron-client theory. Another aim was to try out and develop the theory to the relation police-citizen. By using a qualitative method where I conducted in-depth interviews with 16 respondents from two different social standings, the lower class and upper middle class, I could chart differences. The main findings showed that no matter what social standing they belonged to they all saw corruption as something negative and destroying for the country’s development. When it came to their personal experience their views differed, while the respondents in the lower class participated in corrupt acts out of survival the respondents from the upper middle class participated in it as an easy way out. Concerning the survival of the patron-client theory, did the acts of the respondents’ make that the theory survived and it could be develop to the police.