The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) has recovered over Ksh67 million from an officer at the National Treasury who had unlawfully misappropriated public funds.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, July 15, the EACC indicated that Faith Jematia Kiptis had been ordered to repay the money after the Anti-Corruption and Economic Crimes Division established that she had fraudulently claimed allowances that had not been approved.
Justice Musyoki, who delivered the judgment, found that Kiptis received payments disguised as taskforce, facilitation, entertainment, extraneous, and other unspecified allowances, which had no legal or administrative backing.
“The court found that Ms. Kiptis had illegally and irregularly received public funds disguised as taskforce, extraneous, entertainment, facilitation, and other unspecified allowances,” read the EACC statement.
The ruling ordered Kiptis to refund a total of Ksh67,664,975, a figure that includes the forfeiture of Ksh8.7 million already held in her Equity Bank and KCB Bank accounts.
Besides ordering the refund of over Ksh67 million, the court ordered Faith Jematia Kiptis to pay court rate interest on the amount until she pays the debt in full. She was also ordered to pay the suit costs filed by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC).
The commission, in their investigation, found that between January 2020 and June 2022, Jematia had received numerous concurrent allowances that had not been approved and were also not in line with government policy. The payments also lacked approval from the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC), as stipulated by law.
“These included multiple and overlapping committee and taskforce payments; payments made without the requisite approval from the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC); allowances not applicable to her job group; and payments not provided for in government procedure manuals and circulars,” EACC said in its statement.
The commission emphasized that Jematia’s allowances violated official SRC guidelines, especially two major circulars that had explicitly barred the types of claims she made.
“The court reaffirmed that SRC’s advice on public officers’ remuneration is binding under Article 230 of the Constitution and held that Ms. Kiptis knowingly participated in the fraudulent scheme, unjustly enriching herself at the expense of the public.
“The Court further noted that the National Treasury ought to have awaited the advice of the SRC before effecting any such payments,” the EACC added.
The antigraft watchdog also indicated that it has recovered more than Ksh174 million from National Treasury officials who were paid irregularly. The recoveries were effected through a combination of court cases and Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) mechanisms.
