Corruption and the impact of law enforcement: insights from a mixed-methods study in Malawi

Gerhard Anders,Brigitte Seim,Fidelis E. Kanyongolo

doi:10.1017/s0022278x2000021x

Abstract

ABSTRACTThe article argues that the impact of law enforcement efforts against corruption deserves more scholarly attention. Drawing on a mixed-methods study from Malawi in southern Africa, where a large-scale law enforcement operation has been investigating and prosecuting those involved in a 2013 corruption scandal known as ‘Cashgate’, the article explores the potential for corruption deterrence from the perspective of government officials in the Malawi civil service. Malawi provides a challenging environment for deterrence due to limited state capacity, weak law enforcement agencies and widespread corruption. Nonetheless, the research findings show that Malawian government officials perceive prosecutions and convictions to deter corruption, both with regards to the law enforcement response to Cashgate specifically and law enforcement efforts in general. The findings from Malawi suggest that law enforcement and criminal justice have the potential to make an important contribution to anti-corruption strategies in Africa and the Global South at large.

Highlights

Across much of Africa, corruption has become so deeply entrenched and widespread that African governments are often seen to be under the influence of venal politicians and officials (Bayart et al ; Chabal & Daloz ; YeboahAssiamah et al )
We offer a novel perspective on anti-corruption law enforcement in Africa by probing perceptions of deterrence from the perspective of serving government officials
Our research shows that Malawian government officials perceive that law enforcement can deter future corruption, even in spite of gaps in the legal framework, insufficient resources available, frequent delays, threat of selective justice and inconsistent sentencing

Summary

Introduction

Across much of Africa, corruption has become so deeply entrenched and widespread that African governments are often seen to be under the influence of venal politicians and officials (Bayart et al ; Chabal & Daloz ; YeboahAssiamah et al ). Anti-corruption law enforcement, in turn, suffers from the same problems affecting African governments at large: it is overwhelmed, underfunded and compromised by political influence. Its capacity to curb corruption has been questioned (Kpundeh ; Riley ; Heilbrunn ; Tangri & Mwenda ; Lawson ; Persson et al ; Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa ). Perhaps because of these low expectations, scant scholarly attention has been paid to anti-corruption law enforcement’s potential for deterrence in Africa. Among the principal studies covering aspects of law enforcement in Africa are Coldham ( ), Brown & Sriram ( ) on Kenya, Comaroff & Comaroff ( ) and Plessis & Louw ( ) on South Africa, Robins ( ) on Sierra Leone, Tanzania and Zambia, and Ng’ong’ola ( ) on Malawi, but none of them examines law enforcement’s impact on corruption deterrence

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Conclusion