The government has launched an aggressive nationwide crackdown on corruption within public service human resource departments, targeting officials accused of manipulating payroll systems for personal gain.
Public Service, Human Capital Development and Special Programmes Cabinet Secretary Geoffrey Ruku announced the operation over the weekend in Embu, warning that any HR officers found guilty of tampering with official records will be immediately dismissed and prosecuted.
According to Ruku, a recent audit of the government’s human resource systems has exposed deep-rooted irregularities, including collusion and misuse of administrative privileges by HR staff to defraud the public.
Among the malpractices uncovered were cases where officers allegedly altered employees’ birth dates in official databases to extend their tenure past the legal retirement age. The CS condemned the scheme as a blatant abuse of office that undermines merit-based service and denies opportunities to deserving young professionals.
“We have uncovered alarming patterns where some officers are manipulating age records and facilitating illegal tax exemptions. This is outright theft from taxpayers, and those involved will face the full wrath of the law,” Ruku said.
The audit also revealed instances of job group tampering, where civil servants were irregularly promoted to higher salary grades without following due process, inflating the public wage bill and eroding morale among law-abiding officers.
To curb the vice, the ministry is partnering with the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) and other investigative bodies to trace and prosecute all officers implicated in payroll fraud, ghost worker syndicates, and illegal allowances.
Ruku emphasised that these reforms are part of President William Ruto’s governance agenda, which prioritises integrity, transparency, and accountability across the public sector.
“Our aim is to clean up the system and restore public confidence in government institutions. The public service must reflect fairness, discipline, and integrity not corruption and impunity,” he stated.
