A shocking internal audit has exposed deep-seated rot within Kenya’s public service payroll. Taxpayers have lost an estimated 6.2 billion shillings to fraud and systemic leakages.
The investigation has uncovered a series of baffling irregularities that have left the government reeling.
The audit was commissioned last year to clean up the state’s human resource records. Public Service Cabinet Secretary Geoffrey Ruku revealed the findings in an exclusive interview with Citizen TV.
The report details cases of "ghost" employees who exist only on paper, yet draw millions from state coffers.
"The investigation estimates that payroll fraud and related leakages have cost taxpayers 6.2 billion shillings raising fresh questions about oversight and accountability in government.”
Birth Before Employment
Perhaps the most bizarre finding involves individuals earning salaries before they were even born. Audit records showed that these "employees" were added to the payroll with start dates that preceded their dates of birth.
The report also flagged payments to minors. These individuals were listed as government employees despite official records showing they had not yet reached the age of 18.
"There was also issues of boys or civil servants who are employed before they were born," Ruku told Citizen TV. "The also um uh cases of employees or civil servants who are employed before the age of 18."
The rot extends deep into the National Police Service. Investigators found that multiple employees were sharing the same bank accounts. In one staggering instance, 313.6 million shillings was channelled into a single personal bank account within one financial year.
The audit also raised alarms over missing documentation. Roughly 20 million shillings was paid to employees who lacked valid bank account details on record.
"How can we have boys in the public in the national police with no bank account and are getting paid so we need to know you need to know what is it," Ruku questioned.
Crisis in Immigration
The Department of Immigration was also named as a major area of concern. The audit found unverified salary arrears exceeding six months. Approximately 31.5 million shillings was paid out without any supporting documentation.
Investigators also discovered cases of duplicate payments. Some employees were paid twice for the same period, while others received salaries for months they did not work at all.
A Centralised Solution
The Ministry of Public Service is now moving to seal these loopholes. It has set a deadline for all state agencies and corporations to migrate to a new system. This "integrated human resource and payroll system" aims to centralise all public servant data.
