County Officials Ordered to Repay KSh708,664 Earned Through Double Salary

The Court dismissed the appeal and upheld KRA’s objection decision, ordering each party to bear its own costs.

The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) has secured a High Court order requiring former Homa Bay County Government employee Evelyne Adhiambo Ogweno and former county payroll officer Maurice Ochieng Wambo to jointly and severally repay Ksh 708,664 over irregular additional salary payments made between February 2015 and May 2018.

Justice B.M. Musyoki delivered the judgment on September 18, 2026, following a recovery suit filed by EACC after investigations into the Homa Bay County Government payroll system.

“The recovery is part of a series of cases filed by the Commission following investigations into the alleged loss of Kes42,249,988 through the Homa Bay County Government payroll system,” EACC stated.

Court Finds Ogweno Received Irregular Payments

According to the judgment, Ogweno, a former employee in the County Department of Health Services, received additional salary payments between February 2015 and May 2018.

During that period, she received Ksh 708,664 above her regular salary.

Following the investigations, EACC filed a recovery suit against Ogweno and three former county payroll officials, seeking to recover the additional payments.

The court considered evidence presented during the proceedings, including records concerning Ogweno’s salary payments and her communication regarding repayment of the excess funds.

“This is, in my view, the 1st defendant’s acknowledgment that she had received excess payments. Whether the same was fraudulent, deliberate or an error is another issue all together. What matters is that she received payments from the government which she was neither entitled to nor had earned. Whether the same were salaries or other emoluments is not material. They remain irregular and recoverable,” the judgment stated.

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Wambo Held Liable by Court

Meanwhile, the court examined the role of the three former county payroll officials named in the suit.

It dismissed the claims against Solomon Owuor Ochogo and Joseph Omondi Otieno after finding that the evidence did not establish their liability.

Wambo, listed as the fourth defendant, was linked to the manual payroll process through which Ogweno was included despite being in the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Database (IPPD) system.

“The 4th defendant did not participate in the proceedings to deny the plaintiff’s averments that he included the 1st defendant in the manual payroll despite her being in the IPPD system. In that regard, I am persuaded that the 4th defendant must have been privy to the irregularity and since he has not defended himself, I hold that he is liable,” Justice Musyoki stated in the judgment.

Consequently, the court ordered Ogweno and Wambo to jointly and severally repay the Ksh 708,664 to the Government of Kenya.

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EACC Pursues Further Recovery

Beyond the recovery in the Ogweno case, EACC said it was pursuing other cases arising from investigations into alleged payroll losses at Homa Bay County Government.

“In addition to the recovery of the lost public funds, the Commission is also pursuing the prosecution of public officials found to bear the greatest responsibility for the payroll fraud,” EACC stated.

Under the final orders, the High Court directed that the Ksh 708,664 would attract interest at court rates from the date the suit was filed until payment in full.

Ogweno and Wambo were also ordered to bear EACC’s costs relating to the successful claim, while the Commission was directed to meet the costs of the claims against Ochogo and Otieno.

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