Vihiga Payroll Officer Arrested After Wiring Ksh500K to Wife

A payroll officer of Vihiga County Government was, on Thursday, arrested for illegally wiring Ksh 500,000 of public money to his wife.

Daily Nation reported that the rogue officer was arrested alongside his manager as a move by the county's governor Wilber Ottichilo to end the rampant ghost workers.

The officer, whose name was not released to the public, was taken to Mbale Police Station together with the manager while a third suspect escaped.

The two will stay in custody awaiting the conclusion of investigations before being arraigned in court.

Confirming the arrest, county’s Public Service Executive Paul Mbuni revealed that the wife had been receiving payments despite her not being an employee of the county.

Mbuni further divulged that the county was mauling over plans to overhaul the entire payroll system.

The revelations first came to the fore in July 2018, after an audit into the county's records revealed that seven children had been hired by the county and were on active payroll.

According to a document released by Governor Wilberforce Ottichilo at the time, the children had tweaked certain details in order to conceal their real ages.

It was also revealed that the minors earned a salary of Ksh 25,000 and that they shared bank account with adults.

As a result, the governor ordered that all the minors be taken off the payroll while promising stern action against all those involved.

"Any person employed while below 18 years will immediately be removed from the payroll.

"Disciplinary action will be taken against the officers who signed their letters and put them on pay," threatened Ottichilo at the time.

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