The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) has secured a significant court victory in its fight against financial misconduct within government ranks, following a High Court judgment that ordered the recovery of KSh 67.6 million fraudulently paid to a senior National Treasury official.
The ruling, delivered by Justice Musyoki of the Anti-Corruption and Economic Crimes Division, found that Faith Jematia Kiptis, an officer at the National Treasury and Planning, irregularly received public funds in the form of unauthorized allowances, including extraneous, facilitation, taskforce, and entertainment payments—none of which were sanctioned by the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) or public service regulations.
The court directed Kiptis to:
- Refund KSh 67,664,975 to the government;
- Forfeit KSh 2.4 million from her Equity Bank account and KSh 6.3 million from her KCB account;
- Pay interest on the total amount until full recovery;
- Cover all legal costs related to the proceedings.
According to the EACC, the illicit payments were made between January 2020 and June 2022, during which Kiptis received overlapping and unjustified allowances far exceeding her pay grade. The allowances had no legal basis under existing public service compensation frameworks and bypassed necessary approvals from the SRC.
The court ruling reinforced the binding nature of SRC advisories and called out the National Treasury for failing to exercise due diligence in the approval and disbursement of these payments.
“This judgment affirms the legal requirement that all public service remuneration must align with guidelines issued by the Salaries and Remuneration Commission,” the EACC said in a post-ruling statement. “Failure to do so amounts to misuse of public funds and is actionable under anti-corruption statutes.”
The Kiptis case is just one in a broader effort by EACC to root out financial misconduct in government departments, particularly within the National Treasury. To date, the Commission reports that over KSh 174 million has been recovered from similar schemes involving multiple officials.
EACC’s intensified focus on financial accountability comes amid rising public concerns over wasteful expenditure, opaque remuneration practices, and misuse of allowances in the public sector.
This ruling has wider implications for fiscal governance and institutional accountability in Kenya’s public sector:
- It sends a strong signal to public officers that SRC guidelines are enforceable, not optional;
- It places pressure on ministries and parastatals to audit and align their internal remuneration practices;
- It reinforces the EACC’s strategy to pursue civil asset recovery as a more efficient path to restitution, especially in cases where criminal convictions are harder to secure.
The recovery also underscores growing judicial willingness to support anti-graft institutions in protecting taxpayer funds.
With public debt and spending under intense scrutiny, the EACC reiterated its commitment to safeguarding public funds and holding all government officials accountable—regardless of rank or influence.
“Corruption through inflated allowances, per diems, and unjustified payments is theft from the Kenyan people,” the EACC noted. “We will continue to investigate and recover what belongs to the public.”
As Kenya’s institutions move toward greater transparency and accountability, this case marks a pivotal step in restoring trust in public financial management and setting a precedent for zero tolerance on white-collar graft.
