Cabinet Secretary for Public Service, Human Capital Development and Special Programmes Geoffrey Ruku has warned that arrests are imminent in an investigation into suspicious government payroll transactions, alleging that officials recruited employees to receive irregular payments and remit part of the proceeds to other individuals.
The warning signals a tougher phase in the government’s investigation, with 84 human resource officers from the Kenya Prisons Service, the National Police Service and the Ministry of Health directed to step aside for 30 working days as investigators pursue those suspected of involvement.
In a statement read by Ruku, the government said investigators were recording statements from individuals whose details appeared in suspicious transaction data. The exercise is taking place at county headquarters where the identified officers are deployed.
Preliminary accounts suggest that some employees may have been enlisted by colleagues and human resource officers to facilitate the transactions.
“Statements recorded so far indicate that some beneficiaries of the suspicious payments were recruited by their colleagues and, in certain instances, by Human Resource officers.”
Investigators are also examining what happened to the money after it reached the beneficiaries, with statements indicating that some funds were allegedly transferred to other accounts.
“It has further emerged from the statements recorded that, after receipt of the resulting payments, the beneficiaries allegedly remitted some of the proceeds to some recipient accounts.”
The allegations raise questions about whether the suspicious transactions were isolated payroll irregularities or part of a wider arrangement involving multiple officials. The government’s statement suggested that investigators were pursuing both the individuals who received the money and those who allegedly facilitated the payments.
“These emerging accounts point to a coordinated arrangement in which beneficiaries were recruited to facilitate the processing and receipt of irregular payroll payments, with a portion of the proceeds subsequently being shared with the persons facilitating the transactions.”
Ruku issued a direct warning to officials suspected of involvement, saying the government intended to move from gathering statements to making arrests.
“The 84 Human resource officers from Kenya Prison service, Kenya Police service and Ministry of Health who have user rights to the payroll statement have been directed to take the necessary lawful action to ensure they step aside for the next 30 working days.”
He said arrests would begin before the 30-working-day period expired, singling out the Kenya Prisons Service as an area of particular concern.
“You will witness the arrest in the next 30 working days and there will be arrest before the end of those 30 days and especially in the Kenya prison service people will be arrested. What has been happening there is very unfortunate to all Kenyans and the government of Kenya is coming for you.”
The warning places officials connected to the payroll system under increased scrutiny as investigators seek to establish how the transactions were initiated, authorised and processed, and whether public funds were diverted through the alleged arrangements.
The investigation remains ongoing. The accounts recorded so far constitute allegations, and the involvement or culpability of individual officers has yet to be established.
