The Architects Alliance of Kenya (TAA) has once again sparked national debate after hosting a hard-hitting conversation on ethics and corruption within Kenya’s professional sector.
The event, held yesterday at the Crown Paints Showroom in Westlands, marked the seventh episode of TAA’s acclaimed talk series The Lift, themed “Professionals: Corrupt by Choice or Design?”The session brought together leading voices including architects, lawyers, policy experts, and anti-corruption advocates, offering a rare, candid space to interrogate the role of professionals in Kenya’s entrenched corruption culture.
Archbishop Dr. David Oginde, Chairperson of the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC), issued a powerful call to action, urging professionals across disciplines to examine their moral responsibilities.“The fight against corruption is not just a legal or political issue, it is deeply ethical,” Dr. Oginde declared. “Professionals must take a stand.”
The President of the Law Society of Kenya (LSK), who also spoke at the event, underscored the urgency of reform within professional bodies themselves.“The rot we see in institutions often starts with the silence or active participation of highly trained individuals,” the LSK President noted. “We must reform from within if we are to change the national narrative.”Organized under The Lift banner—TAA’s flagship platform for interdisciplinary and solutions-driven dialogue—the event underscored that ethical lapses are not limited to one sector.“This is not just an architects’ issue.
Engineers, doctors, lawyers, planners—we are all affected when professional values are undermined,” a TAA spokesperson said. “This conversation is the beginning of a bigger, national reckoning.”The event concluded with calls for stronger internal accountability mechanisms, renewed professional ethics training, and collaborative action to rebuild public trust in institutions.
TAA has invited the public and media to follow upcoming episodes of The Lift, as it continues to advocate for transparency, ethical practice, and responsible design in Kenya’s built environment.
