A group of Kenyan students have innovated a blockchain-based system which introduces an immutable, transparent and automated claims-management pipeline designed to eliminate corruption vulnerabilities in the elections management system and within the different Kenyan financial systems.

The students who are learning Applied Blockchain Technology with Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) integration in a scholarship course at the European Business University (EBU)  of Luxembourg underwent a vigorous  training which provides modern solutions to possible corruption related channels in the systems.

Unlike traditional digital systems that rely on centralized control and opaque databases, blockchain provides a decentralized, tamper-proof ledger where every transaction—claim submission, review, approval, funding, and withdrawal. It is publicly verifiable, permanently recorded, and cannot be altered retroactively.

If adopted, for example, the system is designed to eliminate common corruption vulnerabilities within Kenya’s SHA/SHIF health-financing framework, NG-CDF, electoral process among others.

Already the EBU students have developed different systems which if actualised can be a great technological solution for the nation.

Dr. James Mulli the EBU President said part of the project proposes a hybrid electoral process where votes are cast and counted manually, followed by deployment of smart contracts during results transmission to the main National Tallying Centre.

“The smart contract is then deployed on the Ethereum blockchain platform to securely transmit and display election results. In this case, the Presiding Officers at their respective polling stations will be responsible for entering the elections data in the decentralized application (dApp) installed in a portable tablet or laptop, which is then automatically deployed through smart contract by pressing of the submit button on the gadget after keying in the results in Form 34A and witnessed by polling agents. Results are immutable and visible on all nodes, ensuring real-time synchronization between polling stations and the national or constituency tallying centres,” he said.

He said the proposed blockchain bursary platform replaces manual, opaque workflows with transparent, rule-based smart contracts.

Mulli said the system is deployed on the Ethereum Sepolia test network, ensuring that all programmed logic and data updates become permanently recorded on-chain.

“Once deployed, the smart contract cannot be silently altered, which strengthens accountability and reduces opportunities for fraud (Ethereum Foundation, 2022),” he said.

In one of the different case study groups, Muasya Wanjiru said their group proposed a blockchain-enabled smart contract framework for transparent bursary disbursement in Kenya.

She said the project examines persistent weaknesses in Kenya’s bursary disbursement process and proposes a blockchain-based smart contract framework as a practical response to corruption and inefficiencies in public education funding.

“Current bursary schemes—administered through institutions such as NG-CDF, HELB, and county governments—largely rely on manual, paper-based procedures. These processes involve physical applications, discretionary committee decisions, and cheque-based disbursement to schools, all of which have been repeatedly associated with favouritism, weak verification, ghost beneficiaries, and limited accountability (Office of the Auditor-General, 2020; Transparency International Kenya, 2019),” she said in an interview.

Muasya said the proposed solution restructures the bursary process by introducing a blockchain platform where eligibility assessment, verification, approval, and payment are governed by smart contracts.

She said students apply digitally, after which verified off-chain data—such as enrolment and identity confirmation—is supplied through trusted verification mechanisms adding that eligibility rules are encoded directly into the smart contract, ensuring that all applicants are assessed consistently and without subjective interference.

“Blockchain technology was selected because it directly addresses the governance gaps present in the traditional system. Its immutable ledger ensures that once bursary data or transactions are recorded, they cannot be altered without detection,” she said.

Muasya said the process creates a permanent audit trail for applications, approvals, and fund transfers, strengthening transparency and enabling independent oversight (OECD, 2021).

“In addition, the use of multi-signature approvals ensures that no single individual can authorize payments, reducing the risk of unilateral fund diversion,” she said.

Under the proposed framework, she said bursary funds are securely held within the smart contract and are released only after approval by multiple authorized signatories.

Muasya said emergency controls allow the system to be paused if irregularities are detected, providing an additional safeguard against fraud.

“While the system introduces technical and governance challenges—such as data privacy concerns and reliance on digital infrastructure—it significantly improves accountability compared to existing manual approaches,” she said.

The bursary project she said was developed by her and a team of other students including Belinda Rukwira, Kelvin Mwenda, Eric Masengesho, and Joseph Muchui as an academic initiative exploring how emerging technologies can be applied to strengthen public sector integrity.

She said despite implementation challenges, blockchain-based bursary management offers a viable pathway toward fairer, more transparent, and more trustworthy education funding in Kenya.

Other projects done by EBU University students include Blockchain for Government Transparency: Anti-Corruption Smart Contracts for Transparent Student Grading which uses blockchain technology to combat corruption in the education system, particularly in student grading and transcript management.

Another project is Decentralized Administration and Distribution of Medicinal Drugs in Kenya which proposes establishment of a decentralized medicinal drug administration to help the government reduce loss of revenue through corruption, specifically by excluding government officers who currently act as third parties in pharmaceutical trade.