Report says irregular payroll payments persist in Bomet, Garissa, Isiolo, Samburu, Nyeri, Migori, Nyamira and Embu counties.
Auditor-General Nancy Gathungu has revealed that hundreds of retired county government employees in eight different counties are still receiving salaries and allowances, even though they have reached the mandatory retirement age. This exposes systemic payroll weaknesses and poses a financial risk to devolved units.
The report, contained in the audit for the financial year ended June 30, 2025, says the irregular payments persist in Bomet, Garissa, Isiolo, Samburu, Nyeri, Migori, Nyamira and Embu counties, where retired staff remain on active payrolls without lawful justification.
Auditor-General Nancy Gathungu.
Under Regulation 70(1) of the Public Service Commission Regulations, 2020, the mandatory retirement age in the public service is 60 years and 65 years for persons with disabilities. However, Ms Gathungu says many of the affected employees were neither persons with disabilities nor holders of specialised skills, and counties failed to provide evidence to justify their continued retention.
In Bomet, 27 employees under Governor Hillary Barchok’s administration remained on the payroll and received about Sh3 million during the year under review despite having attained retirement age.
Garissa County had five officers still drawing salaries as at September 2025 after reaching retirement age, with the audit noting that no justification was provided for their continued employment.
In Isiolo, 33 employees and four county advisors above 60 years were still earning salaries, drawing a combined gross pay of Sh3.7 million in June 2025. The report further flags four directors in Job Group R whose roles lacked documentation on duties and responsibilities.
Embu most affected
Embu County recorded the highest number of affected staff, with 76 employees still in service as at May 30, 2025, despite having reached retirement age.
Nyeri County had 15 employees on the payroll after retirement, while Migori retained 26 of its 3,159 staff beyond the mandatory retirement age. Nyamira and Samburu counties each had two employees unlawfully retained.
The Auditor-General warns that continued payments to retired staff contravene public service regulations and expose counties to payroll irregularities, wastage and possible financial loss.
Ms Gathungu further notes that weak enforcement of retirement rules points to gaps in human resource controls, allowing counties to process salaries without updated personnel records or verification of service status.
The audit indicates that counties are required to maintain accurate payroll databases and enforce retirement notifications through routine human resource audits to prevent irregular expenditure and safeguard public funds.
It adds that failure to implement retirement regulations inflates wage bills and diverts resources from development priorities at the county level.
The report calls on accounting officers in the affected counties to account for the irregular payments and take corrective action, including recovery of any funds improperly disbursed where applicable.
It also urges stronger oversight by county assemblies and national institutions mandated to audit public expenditure in devolved governments.
Wage bill scrutiny
The findings come amid sustained scrutiny of county wage bills, which remain among the largest components of recurrent expenditure since the advent of devolution in 2013.
The Office of the Auditor-General has repeatedly flagged payroll anomalies in previous reports, but says compliance by counties has remained inconsistent despite repeated recommendations.
Counties named in the latest audit are expected to respond to the findings during parliamentary review of the report, where accounting officers will be required to explain the irregularities and outline corrective measures.
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