- A physician from Homa Bay was required to return more than KSh 5.8 million following the discovery that they had secretly kept a public salary while working full-time at a private hospital.
- Authorities discovered that Dr. Boniface Oloo Otiato received a county salary for three years without being present, while simultaneously overseeing a clinic in Kisumu.
- The court was informed that he acknowledged his mistake in 2021 and proposed to return the funds, but did not take action.
- Justice Musyoki described the case as a cautionary example, calling for legal action against Oloo and any county officials who might have supported the fraudulent activities.
Didacus Malowa, a journalist with https://www.mountaintravel.my.id/.co.ke, has more than three years of expertise in reporting on politics and contemporary issues in Kenya.
A former district medical officer from Homa Bay has been directed to return more than KSh 5.8 million in wages he received while concurrently working a full-time position at a private hospital.
In a significant decision, Judge B.M. Musyoki of the Milimani Anti-Corruption Court determined that Dr. Boniface Oloo Otiato was guilty of illegally gaining advantages from holding both public and private positions for three years.
The court decided that Oloo is required to return all KSh 5,808,056.90 he received from the Homa Bay County Government from August 2017 to August 2020, along with interest and legal expenses.
"A statement is officially made that the defendant unlawfully gained from public funds totaling Kshs 5,808,056.90, which was paid as a salary by the Homabay County Government. Therefore, the court rules in favor of the plaintiff against the defendant for Kshs 5,808,056.90, along with interest at the court's rate from the date of the filing until complete payment," he decided.
What was the reason the court decided against the Homa Bay physician?
The ruling came after inquiries by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC), which discovered that Oloo, although employed full-time as a medical officer by the county, was also serving as a branch manager at Avenue Healthcare in Kisumu.
This setup breached Article 77(1) of the Constitution and Section 26 of the Leadership and Integrity Act, which prohibits full-time government employees from participating in additional paid work.
Court evidence revealed that Oloo was assigned to the Homa Bay County Government in 2015.
He is said to have ceased attending work in August 2017 after joining Avenue Healthcare, yet his county salary was still provided for an additional three years.
An investigator from the EACC, Augustine Mukwekwe, informed the court that Oloo's name was mentioned in a 2020 audit focused on fictitious employees, leading to the commission's investigation.
With a court-issued warrant, EACC acquired Oloo's bank records from Kenya Commercial Bank and verified that he kept receiving his county salary up until August 2020.
Should the doctor from Homa Bay be subjected to additional measures?
Meanwhile, documents from Avenue Healthcare and NHIF verified that he was employed and subsequently promoted at the private hospital during the same time frame.
The court was also presented with a letter from August 2021 in which Oloo acknowledged the double payment and proposed to return the funds, an offer he never fulfilled.
Justice Musyoki pointed out that this case is not a one-time occurrence, emphasizing that multiple similar lawsuits are still being processed from the same time frame.
It is alarming that a medical professional managed to take advantage of the system as healthcare unions advocated for improved wages and staffing. These individuals were not fictitious workers, but rather unscrupulous employees working with county officials. The expectation is that proper legal actions have been taken to prevent similar misconduct in the future," the judge stated.
He also demanded legal responsibility for the employee as well as any county officials who were involved.
How will Kenya Kwanza handle those who arrive late?
In another report, Public Service Cabinet Secretary Geoffrey Ruku declared a strict policy against tardiness and absence among government employees.
Following an unexpected audit in Nyeri county uncovered significant absenteeism, particularly among senior officials, he cautioned that those frequently late or absent from duty would be considered "ghost workers."
Designed to reinstate order, the government plans to implement daily attendance records, well-defined shift schedules, performance evaluations, and potentially biometric and CCTV surveillance.
Ruku has been paying spontaneous visits to government departments to assess activities and the general behavior of public officials.
He has promised to keep conducting the inspection until he improves the efficiency of services in government offices.
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