Ex-Homa Bay officials ordered to refund Sh708,664 in double-salary case.

NAIROBI, Kenya, Sep 23 — The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) has secured a High Court order requiring two former Homa Bay County Government officials to repay Sh708,664 allegedly received through double salary payments.

In a judgment delivered on September 18, the court directed former county employee Evelyne Adhiambo Ogweno and former payroll officer Maurice Ochieng Wambo to jointly and severally repay the money to the Government of Kenya.

Ogweno, who previously worked as a medical social worker at Ndiru Hospital Centre in Rangwe Sub-County, received additional salary payments between February 2015 and May 2018, according to the EACC.

The commission said the extra payments, made through the county payroll system, amounted to Sh708,664 over more than three years.

EACC subsequently filed a recovery case against Ogweno and three former county payroll officials as it sought to recover the funds.

“The recovery follows investigations into the payment of multiple salaries to current and former employees of Homa Bay County Government,” EACC said.

 According to the commission, the investigations established that Sh42.25 million was allegedly lost through the county’s payroll system.

EACC has since pursued several recovery cases arising from the investigations and is also seeking the prosecution of public officials, it says bear the greatest responsibility for the suspected payroll fraud.