High Court Judge Esther Maina on Friday, March 3, ordered former Homa Bay County employee and his wife to refund Ksh26,272,460 which he stole from the County Government.
The former staffer, who worked under the former Governor's reign, was accused of wiring over Ksh26 million to the company run by his wife.
The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) accused him of abusing his authority and taking part in fraudulent activities.
According to Justice Maina, it was established beyond reasonable doubt that the former clerk wired the amount directly to the bank account of a company belonging to his wife.
The employee and his wife were also ordered to pay back 12 per cent in interest on top of the Ksh26,272,460 that they stole from Homa Bay County.
Justice Maina, in her ruling, ascertained that the accused did not render any services to Homa Bay County Government that would warrant such payments.
In the evidence that was adduced before the court, EACC argued that the accused and his wife colluded to defraud the people of Homa Bay County of their rightful money.
The former employee was, in 2018, ordered by EACC to return the money, but he gave the notice a wide berth claiming that he duly earned the money.
It was after his refusal to adhere to orders that the commission made the decision to take the couple to court on grounds of abuse of office.
Justice Maina ordered the couple to remit the payments directly to EACC, and not to Homa Bay County Government.
At the same time, the two were ordered to pay for the cost of litigation including all the lawyers who took part in the Ksh26 million case.
In the meantime, the two were placed under police custody and would later be transferred to a correctional facility until when they make the full payment.
