NAIROBI, Kenya – The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) has secured a High Court order requiring a former Homa Bay County employee to refund Sh708,664 she received through additional salary payments over a period of more than three years.
In a judgment delivered on September 18, 2026, Justice Musyoki ordered former medical social worker Evelyne Adhiambo Ogweno and former county payroll officer Maurice Ochieng Wambo to jointly and severally repay the money to the Government of Kenya.
Former employee received extra salary payments
Ogweno, who previously worked at Ndiru Hospital Centre in Rangwe Sub-County, was employed in the Homa Bay County Department of Health Services.
EACC investigations established that she received additional salary payments between February 2015 and May 2018, over and above her regular salary.
The additional payments amounted to Sh708,664.
The Commission subsequently filed a recovery case against Ogweno and three former county payroll officials seeking to recover the funds.
Court finds payments irregular
EACC presented bank records showing the additional payments were deposited into Ogweno’s account.
The Commission also produced an email in which Ogweno undertook to repay the excess amount through monthly instalments of Sh10,000.
The court found that the email amounted to an acknowledgement of the additional payments.
Justice Musyoki held that the circumstances surrounding the payments did not alter the fact that Ogweno had received government funds to which she was not entitled.
The court consequently declared the Sh708,664 in additional salary payments irregular and ordered the money refunded to the government.
Court dismisses claims against two officials
However, the court dismissed EACC’s claim against two other former payroll officials who had also been sued in connection with the payments.
The judge found that the Commission had not provided sufficient evidence to establish that the two officials had authorised, facilitated or negligently caused the irregular payments.
One of the officials worked with the Integrated Payroll and Personal Data (IPPD) system and did not have access to the manual payroll system linked to the disputed payments.
The judge also noted that another former payroll manager only assumed the position in June 2015, several months after the disputed payments began.
EACC probes Sh42 million Homa Bay payroll loss
The recovery forms part of a wider EACC investigation into suspected irregularities in the Homa Bay County Government payroll system.
The Commission said its investigations established potential losses of Sh42.25 million through the payroll system.
EACC has since filed a series of recovery cases seeking to reclaim public funds linked to the investigation.
The Commission is also pursuing the prosecution of public officials it says bear the greatest responsibility for the alleged payroll fraud.
EACC steps up public funds recovery
The latest judgment adds to EACC’s efforts to recover public funds found to have been irregularly paid through county government systems.
While the High Court ordered Ogweno and Wambo to repay the Sh708,664, it did not find sufficient evidence against two other former payroll officials sued in the case.
EACC said it welcomed the ruling and would continue pursuing recovery proceedings and criminal accountability in cases where investigations establish responsibility for the alleged loss of public funds.
