Auditor General Nancy Gathungu has uncovered a staggering Ksh.67.9 billion loss in public funds through a fraudulent pension scheme.
The audit reveals a coordinated operation by senior officials in the National Treasury and civil service. They created fake pensioners using duplicate ID numbers. The scam involved 260,242 ghost claimants who received illegal payouts.
In one case, officials added 419 fake names to the pension list. These individuals collected Ksh.555.9 million. In another instance, 273 claimants received Ksh.26.9 million before registration even occurred.
The fraud didn’t stop there. A total of 962 public servants received Ksh.1.6 billion in pension before leaving their jobs. These individuals enjoyed retirement benefits while still employed.
Officials also paid Ksh.44 billion to unidentified recipients who lacked Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) PINs. This raises major concerns about proper identity verification.
Between 2013 and 2020, the audit identified Ksh.152.8 million paid to people using shared ID numbers. Additionally, 29,387 individuals used the same bank accounts to collect Ksh.20.9 billion, indicating serious loopholes in payment checks.
Even more alarming, 214 people who never qualified for the pension scheme received Ksh.492 million.
This report exposes deep-rooted collusion in the Treasury. It shows that officials failed to enforce proper oversight and accountability in pension fund management.
Kenya now faces a critical moment. Authorities must enforce stricter verification, audit the entire pension system, and prosecute those behind the fraud.
The scandal has outraged citizens across the country. Taxpayers now demand justice, transparency, and immediate reforms to prevent further misuse of public funds.
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