Informal workers in Kenya lose up to 20 per cent of their daily earnings to bribes demanded by frontline public officials, including traffic police, inspection services and municipal agencies, a new World Bank report shows.
The November 2026 Kenya Economic Update identifies bribery as one of the challenges affecting workers in the informal sector, warning that unofficial payments reduce incomes and limit opportunities for business growth.
The report estimates that informal workers account for 83.8 per cent of Kenya’s workforce, making them particularly vulnerable to corruption involving public officials.
Under a section examining governance constraints affecting earnings and opportunities in the informal sector, the World Bank notes that workers frequently encounter demands for payments when dealing with frontline institutions.
“Informal workers face demands for bribes from frontline institutions such as traffic police, inspection services, and municipal agencies. Reports put the share of bribe fees paid by riders at 5–20 percent of daily earnings (KSh 50–100 daily, plus occasional larger bribe demands),” the report states.
The payments add to the financial pressures facing self-employed people and small-scale operators who depend on daily earnings to meet household expenses and sustain their businesses.
The report further estimates that informal workers can lose up to 20 per cent of their daily earnings to demands from frontline officials.
It states that “Informal workers face frequent demands for bribes from frontline institutions such as traffic police and municipal inspectors—it is estimated that informal workers can lose up to 20 percent of their daily earnings to these kinds of bribes.”
The findings point to the financial impact of corruption on workers who already operate with limited resources and have to meet expenses such as transport, supplies, taxes and business operating costs.
A survey conducted in Kisumu County found that nearly 47 per cent of boda boda drivers had experienced police harassment, mainly through threats of arrest or fines.
Of those who faced threats, almost 79 per cent reported paying bribes to avoid further action.
Data from Transparency International’s bribery index also show that self-employed people are particularly exposed, with nearly half of those surveyed in recent rounds reporting payments after interacting with authorities.
The World Bank report also draws attention to the disproportionate burden of bribery on poorer Kenyans.
Afrobarometer data show that people experiencing higher levels of lived poverty are more likely to pay police bribes to avoid problems.
Their probability of making such payments is between 10 and 14 percentage points higher than that of people in lower poverty quartiles.
The findings suggest that unofficial payments further reduce the resources available to low-income households, leaving less money for essential needs and investment in income-generating activities.
With informal employment accounting for the largest share of Kenya’s workforce, the report warns that corruption at the frontline can undermine productivity and restrict opportunities for businesses to expand.
The economic implications extend beyond individual workers, with the World Bank linking corruption to lower investment, productivity and economic growth.
Its modelling suggests that moderate anti-corruption reforms could expand Kenya’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by nearly 9 per cent by 2035 compared with the status quo.
Stronger reforms could increase GDP by more than 22 per cent and generate millions of additional better jobs. Household consumption could also rise by up to 27 per cent.
To address bribery involving frontline officials, the report recommends introducing clearer rules, rotating staff at checkpoints and reducing the criminalisation of minor traffic offences.
It also calls for action against wider institutional and political incentives that allow corruption to persist.
The proposed measures are intended to reduce opportunities for officials to demand unofficial payments and protect the earnings of workers operating in the informal sector.
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