Fresh public servants headcount begins as Sh6.2bn payroll fraud probe widens

The government has launched a fresh physical headcount of public servants as investigations into suspected Sh6.2 billion payroll fraud widen, in a renewed push to identify irregular recruitment and weaknesses in the management of public funds.

The exercise comes as the government investigates suspicious salary payments involving human resource officials in the Kenya Prisons Service, the Kenya Police Service and the Ministry of Health, with 84 officials implicated and barred from accessing the government payroll system.