This paper explores an ethical response to corruption in Kenya. The study is based on a literature review. The principle method used is the analysis of historical records that show how African moral theory, with particular reference to Ubuntu morality, can be applicable to the development of a national ideology of the common good to curb persistent corruption in Kenya. Through document analysis, the study found out that African ethics resonates with the indigenous worldview of Africans and can effectively be employed as an anti-corru- ption tool in Kenya. Therefore, this study has highlighted the need for the Chur- ch in Kenya, in the formation of public conscience, to utilize moral principles of Ubuntu that are germane to Kenyans as a pastoral tool to curb a run-away corruption in Kenya.
Cite this paper
Oindo, J. O. , Oyugi, E. and Samita, Z. (2021). An Ethical Response to Corruption in Kenya. Open Access Library Journal, 8, e7986. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/oalib.1107986.
Dimant, E. (2013) The Nature of Corruption: An Interdisciplinary Perspective. Economics. http://www.economics-ejournal.org/economics/discussionpapers/2013-59
Ngussa, M.B., Makewa, N.L. and Allida, D. (2016) Integration of Moral Values in the Secondary School Humanities Curriculum across Lake Zone, Tanzania. International Journal of Educational Policy Research and Review, 3, 117-125.
Mwenzwa, E.M. (2013) Corruption in the Utilization of Constituencies Development Fund: Implications and Remedies. In: Ontita, E.G., Mwenzwa, E.M. and Misati, A.J., Eds., Themes in Contemporary Community Development in Africa: A Multi-Disciplinary Perspective, Delizon & Elvee Academic Book Publishers, Lagos, 1- 16.
Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission (2010) Sectoral Perspectives on Corruption in Kenya: The Case of the Public Health Care Delivery. Research and Policy Department.
Oindo, J.O., Oyugi, E. and Samita, Z. (2021) How African Kinship System Contributes to Corruption in Kenya. Open Journal of Social Sciences, 9, 21-38.
https://doi.org/10.4236/jss.2021.95003
Kamwangamalu, M.N. (1999) Ubuntu in South Africa: A Sociolinguistic Perspective to a Pan-African Concept. Critical Arts, 13, 24-41.
https://doi.org/10.1080/02560049985310111
Grange, L.L. (2015) Ubuntu/Botho as ecophilosophy and ecosophy. Journal of Humanity and Ecology, 49, 301-308. https://doi.org/10.1080/09709274.2015.11906849
Maboloc, B. and Ryan, C. (2008) The Concept of Human Development: A Comparative Study of Amartya Sen and Martha Nussbaum. Master’s Thesis, Linköpings Universitet, Linköping.
Menkiti, I. (1984) Person and Community in African Traditional Thought. In: Wright, R.A., Ed., African Philosophy: An Introduction, University Press of America, Lanham, 171-181.
Gyekye, K. (1997) Political Corruption: A Philosophical Analysis of a Moral Problem. Sankofa Publishing Co. Ltd., Accra.
https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195112252.003.0007
Fraser-Moleketi, G. (2007) Towards a Common Understanding of Corruption in Africa. International Journal of African Renaissance Studies, 2, 239-249.
https://doi.org/10.1080/18186870701751723
Bafinamene, C.K. (2016) Church and Moral Formation in an African Context: A Critical Appropriation of Stanley Hauerwas’ Proposal. University of Pretoria, Pretoria.
Makuvaza, N. (2008) Conquest, Colonial Education and Cultural Uprootedness in Africa: The Role of Education for Hunhu/Ubuntu in De-Rooting the African in Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe Journal of Education Research (ZJER), 20, 371-388.
https://doi.org/10.4314/zjer.v20i3.44062
Venter, E. (2004) The Notion of Ubuntu and Communalism in African Educational Discourse. Studies in Philosophy and Education, 23, 149-160.
https://doi.org/10.1023/B:SPED.0000024428.29295.03
Odundo, P.A. and Ganira, K.L. (2017) Teacher Position in Spurring Value Based Education in Early Learning in Nairobi County, Kenya: Addressing Support of Values in School Environment. Journal of Education and Learning, 6, 194-203.
https://doi.org/10.5539/jel.v6n3p194
Munyaka, M. and Mokgethi, M. (2009) Ubuntu and Its Socio-Moral Significance. In: Munyaradzi, F.M., Ed., African Ethics: Anthology for Comparative and Applied Ethics, University of KwaZulu-Natal Press, Pietermaritzburg, 63-84.
Chen, S.-Y. and Liu, C.-C. (2009) Relationships between Personal Religious Orientation and Ethical Ideologies. Social Behavior and Personality, 37, 313-320.
https://doi.org/10.2224/sbp.2009.37.3.313
Teymoori, A., Arash, H. and Hedayat, N. (2014) Relationship between Dimensions of Religiosity, Authoritarianism, and Moral Authority. Social Compass, 61, 92-107.
https://doi.org/10.1177/0037768613514320
Rossano, J.M. (2008) The Moral Faculty: Does Religion Promote “Moral Expertise”? The International Journal for the Psychology of Religion, 18, 169-194.
https://doi.org/10.1080/10508610802115727
Glover, R. (1997) Relationships in Moral Reasoning and Religion among Members of Conservative, Moderate, and Liberal Religious Groups. Journal of Social Psychology, 137, 247-254. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224549709595435
Duriez, B. and Soenens, B. (2006) Religiosity, Moral Attitudes and Moral Competence: A Critical Investigation of the Religiosity-Morality Relation. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 31, 75-82.
https://doi.org/10.1177/0165025406062127
Obaji, M.A. and Swart, I. (2015) Religion and Social Transformation in Africa: A Critical and Appreciative Perspective. Scriptura, 114, 1-20.
https://doi.org/10.7833/114-0-1115
Nwankwo, S.C. (2015) Religious Boom and Moral Decadence in Nigeria: Implications for National Development. International Journal of Theology and Reformed Tradition, 7, 9-25.
Ehusani, G. (2003) Religion and the Scourge of Corruption in Nigeria: Corruption, Accountability and Transparency for Sustainable Development. ALF Publications, Ota.
Peterson, L.A. (1996) Religious Narratives and Political Protest. Journal of the American Academy of Religion, 64, 27-44. https://doi.org/10.1093/jaarel/LXIV.1.27