Website raises funds to help whistleblowers attack corruption and sexual harassment by Kenyan university staff
NAIROBI (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – A whistleblower fund is being set up to prosecute sexual harassment and bribery in Kenyan universities, starting with a “huge corruption scandal” reported on the website NotInMyCountry.org.
The website was set up in 2012 to enable students to report corrupt professors in Ugandan universities, and expanded its scope to Kenya in 2013.
“We are building a fund to support whistleblowers in Kenya who have submitted hard evidence of corruption via our website,” NotInMyCountry said on the fundraising website GlobalGiving.org, where it hopes to raise $5,000.
“We're ready to begin litigating on behalf of one such whistleblower to hold accountable the perpetrators of a huge corruption scandal at a top Kenyan university.”
Kenya is one of the most corrupt countries in the world and university staff often force students to pay for grades with money and sex. The fund aims to support litigation to fight these practices and protect whistleblowers.
One in four university students in Kenya are asked for bribes by staff in the form of money, alcohol or sex in exchange for grades, admission to the university or to receive their degree, NotInMyCountry said.
“If nothing is done, we fear the next generation of Kenyans will be as corrupt as the current one,” it added.
“We must ensure that education promotes integrity not corruption.”
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