By Erestinah Jane | July 1, 2026
The Cabinet has directed the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) to immediately launch a comprehensive forensic investigation into an alleged KSh6.2 billion payroll fraud scheme uncovered during a government audit of State departments.
The directive was issued during a Cabinet meeting chaired by President William Ruto at State House, Nairobi, following the presentation of findings from a payroll audit conducted by the Ministry of Public Service under Cabinet Secretary Geoffrey Ruku.
According to the Cabinet, the audit sampled 12 of the country’s 53 State departments and revealed widespread irregularities that have significantly inflated the public sector wage bill and resulted in substantial losses of public funds.
The government said the findings point to systemic weaknesses in payroll management and deliberate manipulation of human resource records by individuals operating within the public service.
Among the irregularities identified was the existence of ghost workers—individuals who either do not exist or are no longer employed by the government but continue to receive monthly salaries from the Exchequer.
The audit also uncovered unauthorized alterations of employee records, irregular promotions, fraudulent tax exemptions and other manipulations that allowed ineligible individuals to receive higher earnings or evade statutory deductions.
Investigators further identified cases where individual officers allegedly received multiple salary payments simultaneously through different payroll entries, resulting in duplicate or unauthorized remuneration.
The report also highlighted weaknesses in the administration of statutory deductions and fragmented payroll management systems, which created loopholes that facilitated financial leakages and made it difficult to detect fraudulent transactions.
In response, the Cabinet directed the DCI to carry out a full criminal investigation aimed at identifying those responsible for the scheme.
The investigative agency has been tasked with verifying all public service personal numbers, examining payroll records across government institutions and dismantling criminal networks suspected of manipulating the payroll system.
The government said both serving and former public officers found to have participated in the fraud will face criminal prosecution.
