Evaluation of the effectiveness of whistle blowing as a corruption intervention mechanism in the public sector: the case of Mombasa Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission in Kenya

Abstract

Whistle blowing is the act of drawing the attention of the public to a perceived wrongdoing, an unethical conduct, and misconduct. Unethical conducts and misconducts include corruption and abuse of public office which requires whistle blowing to unearth them. Hence, this study sought to evaluate the effectiveness of whistle blowing as a corruption intervention mechanism in in Mombasa Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission in Kenya. Specifically, the study sought; to determine how whistle blowing has contributed to success in prosecution of corruption cases handled by EACC Mombasa, to investigate the various measures in place encouraging whistle blowing as a corruption intervention mechanism in EACC Mombasa and to establish the mechanisms of improving whistle blowing as a corruption reporting technique in EACC Mombasa. The study was anchored on institutional theory and prosocial behavior theory. The study adopted a descriptive research design using both quantitative and qualitative approaches for data collection. The target population was 69 respondents which included judges and EACC legal officers. The sample size of the study was 69 which was arrived at by using census sampling technique where all targeted respondents were included in the sample size. The study used 69 administered questionnaires and 8 key informant interviews schedules for collecting data. Data analysis was done with assistance of SPSS version 25 where descriptive statistics was used for analyzing quantitative data. The findings for quantitative data were presented in Tables. Content analysis was used for analyzing the qualitative data. On objective one, the key findings were that whistle blowing has led to increase in number of corruption cases prosecuted in Mombasa law courts. Moreover, most blown corruption related cases are prosecuted to the final stages since adequate priority is given to corruption related cases brought forward (61.4%). On objective two, the key findings were that there are various measures in place for encouraging whistle blowing that are used by whistleblowers as a corruption reporting technique in EACC Mombasa. These include creating platforms for citizens to submit cases related to corruption (59.6%), ensuring whistle-blowers remain unanimous during prosecution of corruption related cases, having clear government policies on protection of whistle-blowers (63.2%). On objective three, the key findings were that there are various mechanisms for improving whistle blowing in EACC Mombasa. These include ensuring anonymity and safety whistle blowers (57.9%), creating awareness on whistle blowing (63.2%) and introducing mechanisms for internal reporting of corruption with guarantees confidentiality. The study concluded that there are various measures in place for encouraging whistle blowing that are used by whistleblowers in EACC Mombasa. The study concluded that there are various mechanisms for improving whistle blowing in EACC Mombasa which included rewarding the whistle blowers and introducing mechanisms for internal reporting of corruption with guarantees confidentiality. The study recommends that EACC investigators need incorporate other measures like investigations for effective prosecution of whistle blown corruption cases. Further, there is need for government to come up with strategies to ensure that whistle blowing mechanisms are effectively utilized to combat illicit activities. This study may inform the practice of preventing corruption through whistle blowing. The study also contributes to the field of governance of accountability.