Kenya and other African countries’ biggest challenge in protecting whistleblowers is not the lack of legal frameworks, but weak leadership commitment to enforcing them, experts said during the 2026 World Whistleblower Protection Day commemoration held on June 23.
Speaking at the event hosted by Transparency International, Charity Hanene Nchimunya, Executive Secretary of the African Union Advisory Board Against Corruption (AUABC), said African states must move beyond ratifying anti-corruption instruments and focus on implementing practical measures that protect individuals who expose wrongdoing.
She noted that while many countries have put in place legal and policy frameworks for whistleblower protection, enforcement remains weak due to limited political will and institutional commitment.
“Leadership is the biggest gap in enforcing whistleblower protection,” Nchimunya said.
To address this, she called for the creation of dedicated and adequately funded institutions across Africa and the East African region to protect whistleblowers, alongside stronger integrity systems and public awareness campaigns.
Nchimunya further observed that although a 2024 AUABC survey found about 90 per cent of responding countries had established reporting channels for whistleblowers, many of these systems remain inaccessible or ineffective.
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