NAIROBI, Kenya — Fresh audit findings have raised fresh concerns over payroll integrity in county governments after nearly 600 county employees across 26 counties failed to appear for physical verification, fuelling fears that hundreds of millions of shillings may have been paid to ghost workers over the past three years.
According to special audits by the Auditor General, the 596 unverified employees collectively received Sh978 million, with Machakos, Mandera and Kajiado counties emerging among the most affected.
The audits, conducted between December 2024 and February 2025, sampled 2,354 employees drawn from county payrolls.
County governments were required to present the selected staff for physical verification, but more than a quarter failed to show up, leaving auditors unable to confirm whether they were legitimate employees.
“The failure by more than a quarter of sampled employees to physically present themselves raises serious concerns about the authenticity of county payrolls and the risk of irregular or fraudulent payments,” Auditor General Nancy Gathungu said.
The findings come against the backdrop of a ballooning county wage bill. Data from the Controller of Budget shows that the 26 counties spent Sh132.2 billion on salaries in the year ending June 2025.
Machakos tops list
Machakos County recorded the highest number of suspected ghost workers, with more than half of the sampled employees failing verification.
“The Special Audit requested 44 employees from the County Executive to present themselves for physical verification. However, 23 employees did not avail themselves for the exercise,” Gathungu said.
The 23 employees were paid a combined Sh75.7 million in salaries, raising concerns that the funds may have been lost through fraudulent payments.
Mandera, Kajiado also flagged
In Kajiado County, auditors sampled 189 employees, but 94 failed to appear, despite having received Sh82.7 million over three years.
Similarly, Mandera County failed to produce 49 of 99 sampled workers, who collectively earned Sh112 million.
In Nairobi County, 27 out of 89 employees summoned for verification could not be traced, accounting for Sh47.5 million in salaries paid during the review period.
Other counties with high no-show rates included Samburu (33.7%), Nandi (38.2%), Mombasa and Kakamega (28%), while Kiambu County failed to trace 21 of 106 employees, who earned Sh67.8 million over three years.
High salaries among unverified staff
The audit further revealed that some unverified employees were earning unusually high salaries.
In Baringo County, five unverified employees earned an average monthly salary of Sh130,143, totalling Sh23.4 million.
In Nandi, 34 unverified workers earned an average of Sh109,515, while three unverified employees in Isiolo County earned an average of Sh102,303 per month.
“The failure by employees to appear for physical verification casts doubt on the authenticity of payroll records and raises the risk of paying salaries to staff who do not offer services,” Gathungu said.
Wider payroll problems exposed
Beyond ghost workers, the audits exposed deeper payroll weaknesses. The Auditor General found that 41 counties hired 27,284 employees over three years without approved recruitment plans or budgets, heightening the risk of overstaffing.
By 2024, county governments had a combined workforce of 226,500 employees, according to the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC).
Their total wage bill hit Sh215.08 billion in the year ending June 2024, an increase of Sh12.88 billion from the previous year.
The audit also revealed major discrepancies between county staff records and the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Database (IPPD).
“There were 177 employees appearing in Chief Officers’ lists but not in the IPPD, while 460 employees were in IPPD but missing from the counties’ records,” Gathungu said.
The 460 employees received Sh205.1 million in earnings during the 2023/24 financial year.
Gathungu also criticised the continued use of manual payroll systems, warning that they are prone to manipulation and fraud.
Several counties processed hundreds of millions of shillings in salaries manually, increasing the risk of unauthorised payments.
