Kibabii University 1st International Conference; June 22-24,2016
Rispah Wepukhulu and Purity Nasambu
Abstract
Kenya has of the recent past been climbing up the ranks of corruption and according to a 2016 audit report by Price Waterhouse Coopers, Kenya achieved a rank of three as the most corrupt country just after France and South Africa. The web of corruption that has entangled all facets of the Kenyan society from crucial arms of government to local administrative units in villages to private sectors leaders and is slowly being fed to new generations. It has become our way of doing things, it’s our Kenyan culture. Even with the endless efforts from anti-corruption agencies and regulatory laws to stifle corruption, it’s a culture we just can’t get over. Why? The prevailing Kenyan ethical environment provides a basis of analysis of ethical leadership with reference to a vast theoretical framework on ethical leadership which will help explain the complex nature of ethical leadership. The paper therefore highlights that it’s beyond the bad apple analogy and corruption is more of a systemic problem applicable to the bad barrel analogy. Nonetheless the paper acknowledges that in a society where trust and integrity remains a mirage, ethical leadership is at the core of culture transformation .Possible recommendation to the Kenyan society as a whole and specifically to the Kenyan anti-corruption agencies are provided as possible solutions to tackling the vicious web of corruption in Kenya.
Key Words: Ethical Leadership, Organizational Culture, Corruption
