Senator Crystal Asige delivered a passionate and urgent address during the African Anti-Corruption Day 2025 commemorations held at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC), warning that Africa risks “losing the point” in its fight against corruption.
Addressing a continental audience, Asige called on African nations to refocus on what she termed “the true enemy”—systemic corruption that is crippling institutions, deepening inequality, and undermining democracy.
We are once again losing the point when it comes to corruption as a continent,” Senator Asige said. “What we are seeing in Kenya and Africa are citizens suffering from the snare of corruption.”
Asige, a vocal advocate for disability rights and inclusive leadership, linked the normalization of corrupt behavior with the erosion of constitutional safeguards. She warned that when corruption festers, it gradually evolves into dictatorship, stripping democratic institutions of their power and turning watchdogs such as the Judiciary and media into mere façades.
The first sign of corruption is when leadership comes into dictatorship, leaving behind the spirit of devolution, when institutions like the Judiciary become cosmetic and not constitutional, when journalists, activists, and analysts are framed as tools of corruption.”
She particularly highlighted the toll on essential services, pointing out how salary delays for teachers and health workers create fertile ground for bribery and manipulation, ultimately harming the nation’s most vulnerable citizens.
When teachers and health workers are not paid their salaries, it becomes easier for corrupt leaders to pay them off with bribes,” she said. “And Kenyans start to think that in order to succeed, they must cut corners.”
While condemning corruption unequivocally, Senator Asige urged that the fight be carried out with respect for human dignity, stating:
If we want to tame dignity, we must say no to corruption at all cost. But remember, you cannot fight corruption by humiliating people.”
Drawing inspiration from countries like Singapore, Georgia, Estonia, Australia, and Rwanda, she underlined the role of justice-led leadership in building resilient, ethical states.
Leadership by justice is the best example in making a corruption-free country,” she emphasized.
Concluding her speech, Asige compared Africa’s anti-corruption efforts to a relay race requiring collective will, persistence, and unity.
We must do this together as a relay run—where we pass on the baton of a corruption-free Africa.”
Her remarks struck a chord with the day’s broader theme: that corruption is not merely a political issue, but a moral crisis that demands courage, accountability, and cross-sectoral action to overcome.
