Judiciary paid Sh14 billion in staff compensation without records for 2,180 employees - Auditor General
The Judiciary is under scrutiny for paying out Sh14.05 billion in staff compensation without providing employment records for over 2,000 workers.
In her report for the financial year ended June 30, 2024, Auditor General Nancy Gathungu has revealed that only 136 of the 2,316 newly reported employees had supporting contract documents, making the remaining 2,180 unaccounted for.
“A review of payroll data revealed that the Judiciary had a total of 8,330 and 6,014 members of staff as at June 30, 2024 and June 30, 2023, respectively, indicating an increase of 2,316 employees during the year,” Gathungu said in the audit.
“The list provided for new contracts revealed 136 additional staff members, resulting in an unsupported variance of 2,180 employees. However, the recruitment and records for the additional staff were not provided for audit review.”
The Sh14,050,247,576 listed under employee compensation in the Judiciary’s statement of receipts and payments also included personal allowances amounting to Sh4,894,681,873. However, the Auditor General said personal allowances totalling Sh182,390,324 and an equal amount in leave allowances were not backed by the payroll analysis or ledger entries.
“In the circumstances, the regularity, accuracy and completeness of the compensation of employees amount of Sh14,050,247,576 could not be confirmed,” she said.
Gathungu also flagged other issues affecting the Judiciary’s financial operations, including unsupported expenses on foreign travel and training, pending bills and unutilised or condemned infrastructure.
The audit report revealed that the accuracy and completeness of foreign travel subsistence and training expenses amounting to Sh93.08 million could not be determined.
Additionally, the Auditor General cited failure by the Judiciary to operationalise certain court facilities, and raised concern over the new office block at the Mombasa Law Courts, which she noted had been condemned.
In her report for the financial year ended June 30, 2024, Auditor General Nancy Gathungu has revealed that only 136 of the 2,316 newly reported employees had supporting contract documents, making the remaining 2,180 unaccounted for.
“A review of payroll data revealed that the Judiciary had a total of 8,330 and 6,014 members of staff as at June 30, 2024 and June 30, 2023, respectively, indicating an increase of 2,316 employees during the year,” Gathungu said in the audit.
“The list provided for new contracts revealed 136 additional staff members, resulting in an unsupported variance of 2,180 employees. However, the recruitment and records for the additional staff were not provided for audit review.”
The Sh14,050,247,576 listed under employee compensation in the Judiciary’s statement of receipts and payments also included personal allowances amounting to Sh4,894,681,873. However, the Auditor General said personal allowances totalling Sh182,390,324 and an equal amount in leave allowances were not backed by the payroll analysis or ledger entries.
“In the circumstances, the regularity, accuracy and completeness of the compensation of employees amount of Sh14,050,247,576 could not be confirmed,” she said.
Gathungu also flagged other issues affecting the Judiciary’s financial operations, including unsupported expenses on foreign travel and training, pending bills and unutilised or condemned infrastructure.
The audit report revealed that the accuracy and completeness of foreign travel subsistence and training expenses amounting to Sh93.08 million could not be determined.
Additionally, the Auditor General cited failure by the Judiciary to operationalise certain court facilities, and raised concern over the new office block at the Mombasa Law Courts, which she noted had been condemned.
Auditor General Nancy Gathungu
Judiciary corruption
Kenya Judiciary
Judiciary jobs
judiciary complaints
corruption Judiciary
Auditor General's report
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