The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) has recovered Ksh39,180,000, which was fraudulently paid to two National Treasury officials.
In a statement on Friday, June 6, EACC said the two officials, Robert Theuri Murage and Doris Nafula Simiyu, were paid the amount in the form of unauthorized allowances.
“The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) has recovered Kes39,180,000 fraudulently paid to two officials of the National Treasury, Mr. Robert Theuri Murage and Ms. Doris Nafula Simiyu, in the form of illegal and unauthorized allowances,” EACC stated.
This follows a ruling by Lady Justice Lucy Njuguna of the Anti-Corruption and Economic Crimes Division of the High Court in Nairobi, which found that Murage and Simiyu had unlawfully received public funds disguised as various allowances, including task force, extraneous, entertainment, facilitation, and other unspecified payments.
The court ordered Murage to repay Ksh20,318,000 and Simiyu to refund Ksh18,862,000.
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EACC noted that Murage has Ksh11,078,601 preserved in his Equity Bank account, which will be forfeited, while the remaining Ksh9,239,398.17 is to be paid in cash.
On the other hand, Simiyu’s Ksh8,953,988.74 preserved in her National Bank account will be forfeited, and then she will settle a balance of Ksh9,908,011.26 in cash.
The judgment follows investigations by EACC, which began in July 2022 after the Commission received reports of misappropriation of public funds through irregular payments within the National Treasury.
“Investigations revealed that between January 2020 and June 2022, the two officials received multiple and overlapping allowances without proper approval from the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC). Some of the allowances were based on outdated or revoked government circulars, while others were entirely unauthorized or duplicated,” EACC stated.
Further, the commission said the court ruling is a major step in EACC’s efforts to recover stolen public funds and enforce accountability in the use of public resources.
