A Treasury employee has been ordered to refund Sh67 million irregularly paid to her as an extraneous allowance in a period of two years to June 2022.
Justice Benjamin Musyoki agreed with the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) that the funds paid to Faith Jematia Kiptis between February 2020 and June 2022 were paid irregularly and, therefore, were unlawful.
“This court has found that the money was paid irregularly and unlawfully and the plaintiff (EACC) is hereby allowed to recover the amount, plus interest,” said the judge.
The anti-graft body had submitted that the allowances were paid against the advice of the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC).
The treasury employee had defended the allowances, saying she and other members of a task force were paid the amounts during the preparation of the budget.
Justice Musyoki ordered Ms Kiptis to forfeit Sh2.4 million at Equity Bank, which were frozen when EACC moved to court in July 2022, plus another Sh6.3 million held at KCB Bank Kenya.
The court rejected a report of an ad-hoc committee, established by the Treasury, to inquire into allegations levelled against the officials and which had cleared them of any wrongdoing.
The committee had found that the officials were not culpable for any loss of public funds and the payments were legally approved, and that they performed the duties assigned to them within the terms of reference stated.
The report also said the payments were made with approval by heads of department, including the accounting officer, which approval could not have been given if they had not performed their duties as instructed.
EACC submitted that the Treasury employee was paid allowances contrary to government policy, through multiple and overlapping committee and taskforce payments and payments made without the approval of the SRC.
The court ruled that SRC’s advice on public officers’ remuneration was binding under Article 230 of the Constitution.
Justice Musyoki, however, rejected EACC’s bid to take over some of the properties belonging to Ms Kiptis, saying the case was not based on unexplained wealth but recovery of monies irregularly paid to her.
The judge also said some of the properties had been sold to third parties, who had not been joined in the case, while some of the assets were acquired outside the investigation period.
The commission has so far obtained judgments granting it permission to recover a total of Sh174 million from several Treasury officials, unlawfully and irregularly paid to them as allowances.
