Civil servants were caught stealing Sh2.45 billion in hard cash in the year to June, in what was only a small portion of the amount that the anti-graft agency says is lost from public coffers annually.
The Public Service Commission (PSC) said in a report that theft of money surged from Sh643.6 million captured a year earlier, representing a 280.7 percent increase.
The Sh2.45 billion accounted for a small share of the billions of shillings siphoned from State coffers annually, with the EACC projecting that Kenya loses about a third of its budget to graft.
A measly Sh1.7 million was recovered from the money that got lost in the year to June, with 19.2 percent of the suspects being charged in court and two percent convicted.
“Sh2.45 billion worth of assets/money was lost, against the Sh1.77 million recovered. The amount of money lost increased by Sh1.8 billion from the Sh643.6 million reported in the previous financial year,” the PSC said in its annual compliance report.
“On the other hand, the amount of money recovered decreased by Sh3.21 million from the Sh4.98 million reported in the previous evaluation.”
The sharp rise in theft emerged in a year when public officers caught dipping their fingers in the cookie jar dropped 55.2 percent, signalling that government employees are turning to big-ticket theft.
The PSC did not explain how the theft happened and the Business Daily failed to get an immediate comment from the commission, which employs, promotes and fires civil servants.
The commission says that 151 public officers were implicated in cases involving fraud, abuse of office, theft, bribery and improper benefits across 19 government agencies during the period under review.
This represents a decline from the 337 officers reported in similar cases across 28 agencies in the previous financial year ended June 2024.
“There was a 49.9 percent decrease in the number of officers reported to have been involved in corruption and a decrease of 64.5 percent in the amounts reported to have been recovered,” said the commission.
The report shows that 99 cases were investigated and concluded during the review period, representing 65.6 percent of all the reported incidents.
Four cases were discontinued while 41 were still under investigation at the time the report was compiled.
The investigation status of seven cases was not indicated, pointing to gaps in documentation and monitoring of misconduct cases within some institutions.
“Of the cases that were investigated, 29 (19.2 percent) resulted in a charge, three (two percent) were acquitted, while 100 (66.2 percent) were referred for administrative action,” wrote the PSC.
“15 (9.9 percent) cases that were in the courts were concluded, 30 (19.9 percent) were still ongoing, while the status for 106 (70.2 percent) was not indicated.”
Administrative action typically involves internal disciplinary measures such as suspension, demotion or dismissal instead of criminal proceedings.
Only three court cases resulted in convictions, as three others ended in officers being acquitted, while the court outcome of 143 cases was not indicated.
Kenya has a history of multi-billion shilling scandals that have failed to result in high-profile convictions. This has angered the public, who accuse top officials of acting with impunity and encouraging graft by those in lower posts.
Businesses also often cite pervasive corruption as one of the biggest obstacles to investment.
The lengthy investigations, weak asset recovery mechanisms, and reliance on administrative sanctions continue to limit the effectiveness of disciplinary processes, analysts say.
Authorities have for years struggled to trace, freeze, and reclaim stolen assets once money has been diverted through complex financial channels.
Previous audit and compliance reviews have had oversight agencies warning that slow investigations and poor coordination among investigative bodies often weaken the closure of corruption cases.
The EACC has in the past reported that Kenya loses a third of its state budget to corruption every year.
The Treasury denied that so much was being lost to corruption, as projected by the EACC, but said poor documentation at times fuelled the perception that funds were being squandered.
The PSC report shows that incidents of misconduct were most prevalent in State corporations and semi-autonomous government agencies (SAGAs), which accounted for 12 of the 19 institutions reporting such cases.
The agencies typically control substantial operational budgets and procurement programmes, which enhances exposure to financial misconduct in cases where internal controls are weak.
Ministries and State departments followed with four institutions, while public universities recorded three institutions with officers implicated in the cases.
Fraud emerged as the most common form of misconduct during the period, accounting for 49 cases or 32.5 percent of the reported incidents, followed by abuse of office with 31 cases, which represented 20.5 percent of the incidents recorded across government institutions.
Fraud cases in public institutions often involve manipulation of payment systems, procurement irregularities or falsification of documents to facilitate unauthorised payments.
Procurement-related corruption has historically been identified as one of the biggest sources of financial losses in the public sector, owing to the large sums involved in government contracting.
Theft accounted for 20 cases or 13.2 percent, while incidents involving improper benefits and bribery stood at 14 and 11, respectively.
The findings highlight the varied ways through which public officials exploit their positions for personal gain, ranging from the manipulation of procurement processes to the direct misappropriation of public funds.
