Kenya’s Watchdog on Trial
The irony could not be heavier. The very office meant to hold public officials accountable now finds itself at the center of controversy. On October 21, 2025, The Standard reported that Mercy Wambua, Chief Executive Officer of the Commission on Administrative Justice, popularly known as the Office of the Ombudsman had been suspended for 14 days over allegations of gross misconduct and incompetence.
For an institution established to defend fairness, integrity, and administrative justice, this suspension is more than an internal issue. It is a reflection of a deeper national crisis: the erosion of accountability, even in the spaces meant to protect it.
The Ombudsman’s office has long been the citizen’s refuge, where Kenyans could turn when public offices failed them, when files “went missing,” when justice was delayed or denied. It was meant to be the bridge between government power and citizen voice. But what happens when the bridge itself begins to crumble?
Allegations of misconduct in an oversight body don’t just raise eyebrows; they fracture public trust. It’s not simply about Mercy Wambua; it’s about the message it sends. When the watchdog wobbles, those meant to be watched roam free.
Kenya’s governance ecosystem depends on institutions that check excesses- Parliament to question, Judiciary to interpret, and Commissions to protect. Yet time and again, those very institutions are caught in the same traps they are meant to prevent: internal politics, mismanagement, and a culture of impunity that protects power more than people.
This suspension comes at a time when public trust in independent institutions is at an all-time low. Reports from the Auditor-General’s Office reveal that billions of shillings remain unaccounted for across ministries and counties. The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission continues to face accusations of selective investigations, and Parliament’s watchdog committees are increasingly politicized.
From the NYS scandal, to county-level embezzlement, Kenya’s accountability framework has become a revolving door. The names change, but the playbook remains the same. Oversight bodies announce investigations, commissions form taskforces, headlines scream for a week…and then silence.
When the institution meant to guard ethics becomes part of the ethics problem, it exposes the rot that runs deep. It shows that corruption in Kenya is not just a moral crisis; it’s a structural one…embedded, normalized, and protected.
It’s painful to admit, but corruption in Kenya doesn’t always come from the top. Sometimes it festers quietly in the spaces that claim to fight it. When integrity watchdogs lose their moral compass, citizens lose their last line of defense.
Accountability cannot exist in press statements alone. Oversight bodies must be as transparent as the values they preach. Investigations into Wambua’s suspension must be swift, public, and fair because justice cannot be selective.
The measure of justice is not how loud institutions speak, but how truthfully they act when no one is watching. Kenya doesn’t need louder watchdogs…it needs honest ones.
