NAIROBI, Kenya — The Judiciary is facing intense scrutiny after Auditor General Nancy Gathungu flagged unexplained staff compensation totalling more than Sh14 billion in the 2023/24 financial year, with employment records for over 2,000 workers missing.
In her latest audit report, Gathungu revealed that only 136 of the 2,316 employees reportedly added to the Judiciary’s payroll between June 2023 and June 2024 had valid contract documentation.
The remaining 2,180 individuals could not be accounted for, raising red flags about possible ghost workers or unprocedural hiring.
“A review of payroll data revealed that the Judiciary had a total of 8,330 staff as of June 30, 2024, up from 6,014 in 2023, indicating an increase of 2,316 employees,” the report states. “However, the recruitment records for the additional staff were not provided for audit review.”
The Auditor General said this discrepancy made it impossible to verify the accuracy and legitimacy of the Sh14,050,247,576 spent on employee compensation, which includes personal allowances amounting to nearly Sh4.9 billion.
Of concern are personal and leave allowances worth Sh182 million each, which were not supported by payroll analysis or corresponding ledger entries.
“In the circumstances, the regularity, accuracy and completeness of the compensation of employees could not be confirmed,” Gathungu noted.
Foreign Travel, Condemned Infrastructure Also Under Fire
The audit also highlighted Sh93.08 million in foreign travel and training costs whose accuracy could not be verified due to insufficient supporting documentation.
Moreover, several Judiciary projects were found to be inactive or underutilized.
A new office block at the Mombasa Law Courts was condemned before use, and other court facilities have remained unoperational despite budget allocations.
The report adds to growing concerns over transparency and accountability in public spending, especially within key institutions like the Judiciary.
