The government has stepped up efforts to clean up the public payroll after an internal audit uncovered widespread fraud involving ghost workers, minors and even unborn children allegedly receiving salaries from government funds.
The audit, which was commissioned last year, estimates that taxpayers lost about Ksh6.2 billion through payroll fraud. The findings have exposed major weaknesses in how employee records and salary payments have been managed across several government institutions.
Public Service Cabinet Secretary Geoffrey Ruku, speaking during an interview with Citizen TV, said investigators discovered several irregularities that pointed to deliberate manipulation of the payroll system. According to the audit, some employee records contained false information, while others were linked to suspicious salary payments and questionable banking details.
Among the most startling findings were cases where employment records showed that some individuals had been hired before they were even born. Other records indicated that some employees had joined the public service before reaching the legal employment age.
“There were also issues of civil servants who were employed before they were born. There were also cases of civil servants who were employed before the age of 18,” Ruku said.
The audit also revealed unusual banking arrangements involving public servants. Investigators found cases where several employees were sharing a single bank account.
In other instances, salaries were reportedly paid to individuals who did not have valid bank accounts, making it difficult to confirm who actually received the money.
“There are those employees who are sharing bank accounts. There are employees without bank accounts, but money has been paid,” the CS added.
According to the findings, payroll manipulation appears to have been deeply rooted in some institutions, allowing fraudulent beneficiaries to remain on government payrolls for extended periods while public funds continued to be lost.
The National Police Service was identified as one of the institutions heavily affected by the irregularities. The audit found that Ksh336 million had been paid into a single bank account that was linked to multiple employees. This raised concerns about how such transactions went unnoticed within the system.
Auditors also discovered that Ksh20 million was paid during one financial year to individuals who lacked valid bank accounts, making verification of the beneficiaries difficult.
The Department of Immigration was also flagged after investigators uncovered Ksh31 million in salary arrears that had remained unverified for six months and were reportedly processed without sufficient supporting documents.
Ruku questioned why some government agencies had allowed salary arrears to accumulate for long periods without proper explanation.
“Employees are paid arrears beyond six months. Why would the government be accumulating arrears beyond six months? Why? These are the questions that need to be answered,” he said.
The Cabinet Secretary said the government has already started implementing measures aimed at removing ghost workers, strengthening payroll controls and improving accountability.
He warned that individuals found responsible for the fraudulent schemes would face action as authorities continue with investigations.
