The government has launched a sweeping investigation into widespread payroll irregularities in the public service after uncovering shocking cases of civil servants receiving double salaries, falsifying birth records, and manipulating data to stay in employment beyond the retirement age.
Public Service Cabinet Secretary Geoffrey Ruku revealed the details on Citizen TV’s Monday Report, saying the ongoing audit of the government’s Human Resource Information System had exposed deep-rooted fraud within the civil service.
“The audit has revealed cases of public servants who are being paid twice, some even thrice, under the same name and account,” Ruku said. “We have also found individuals who altered their dates of birth to delay retirement, and others who were promoted without the approval of the Public Service Commission.”
A recent report from the EACC and the Public Service Commission indicates that over 2,000 public servants used fake academic and professional documents to get hired . This comes after a government crackdown launched in October 2025 on corrupt Human Resource (HR) officers accused of manipulating payrolls to create "ghost workers" and other irregularities, a problem that has cost the country billions over the years.
The revelations have sparked public outrage over long-standing corruption and inefficiencies in the payroll system, which experts say drains billions of shillings in taxpayers’ money every year.
Ruku said the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) had been called in to assist with investigations and to ensure that those responsible are held accountable.
“Anyone found to have committed fraud will be prosecuted and dismissed,” he warned.
To seal loopholes and prevent future manipulation, the government is developing a new digital platform,the e-Public Service Management System which will integrate personnel data, track promotions, and flag anomalies in real time.
“The system will help monitor attendance, prevent duplication of records, and make it easier to detect irregularities as they happen,” Ruku explained. “We must provide Kenyans with efficient, transparent, and corruption-free public services.”
Payroll fraud has long been a challenge in Kenya’s public sector. The last major audit in 2014 revealed thousands of “ghost workers” who continued to draw salaries despite not existing in official records.
Ruku said the latest audit aims not only to expose fraudulent activities but also to reform how government employees are managed and paid. “We are reforming the public service to make it more accountable, data-driven, and performance-oriented,” he said.
The ministry is expected to release a detailed report in the coming weeks, outlining the findings and the disciplinary measures to be taken against those implicated.
