The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) has recovered more than Ksh67 million from a National Treasury official after it was found that she had unlawfully received the money.
In a statement on Tuesday, July 15, EACC cited a judgment delivered by Justice Musyoki of the Anti-Corruption and Economic Crimes Division who found that Faith Jematia Kiptis had illegally pocketed public funds by claiming various allowances that were not authorized.
According to EACC, the payments were disguised as facilitation, entertainment, extraneous, taskforce, and other unspecified allowances.
“The court found that Ms. Kiptis had illegally and irregularly received public funds disguised as taskforce, extraneous, entertainment, facilitation, and other unspecified allowances,” the statement read.
As a result, the court ordered her to refund Ksh67,664,975, including the forfeiture of Ksh8.7 million already held in her Equity Bank and KCB Bank accounts.
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Additionally, the ruling mandated that Jematia pay interest at court rates on the total amount until full repayment, in addition to covering the cost of the suit filed by EACC.
According to EACC, its probe revealed that between January 2020 and June 2022, Jematia had received multiple overlapping allowances which also lacked approval from the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC).
“These included multiple and overlapping committee and taskforce payments; payments made without the requisite approval from the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC); allowances not applicable to her job group; and payments not provided for in government procedure manuals and circulars,” the statement added.
EACC noted that the allowances contravened SRC advisories, particularly two key circulars that prohibited the type of allowances claimed by Jematia.
"The court reaffirmed that SRC’s advice on public officers’ remuneration is binding under Article 230 of the Constitution and held that Ms. Kiptis knowingly participated in the fraudulent scheme, unjustly enriching herself at the expense of the public.
"The Court further noted that the National Treasury ought to have awaited the advice of the SRC before effecting any such payments," the statement further read.
EACC reported that it has successfully recovered over Ksh174 million from National Treasury officials in similar irregular payments through court processes and Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) channels.
