The Kenyan government faces a potential financial loss of Sh5.1 million (approximately $41,000 USD) after it mistakenly overpaid former Director of Criminal Investigations (DCI) Ndegwa Muhoro during his service as Kenya’s high commissioner to Malaysia.
Auditor-General Nancy Gathungu revealed that Mr. Muhoro received nearly double his agreed-upon gross salary for 27 months while serving in Kuala Lumpur.
“The officer was erroneously paid a gross salary of Sh659,286 per month for the period between February 12, 2019 to June 30, 2020 and Sh661,676 per month for the period July 1, 2020 to August 31, 2021 instead of Sh344,286,” Ms. Gathungu stated.
The overpayment stemmed from a miscalculation of Mr. Muhoro’s pay grade. Due to his previous position, the Public Service Commission set his salary at Sh344,286 per month, which is higher than the standard Sh320,000 for officers in that position. However, the system mistakenly paid him a significantly higher amount.
fter discovering the error in June 2022, authorities initiated efforts to recover the overpayment.
Mr. Muhoro agreed to make monthly repayments of Sh100,000. However, due to his earlier-than-expected recall from Malaysia in November 2023 and subsequent departure in December, he only managed to return Sh1.7 million before his contract ended.
“In the circumstances, the Ministry may not be able to recover the outstanding amount by the end of the Officer’s contract,” Ms. Gathungu remarked, implying that the remaining Sh5.1 million might be unrecoverable. This raises concerns about potential financial losses for Kenyan taxpayers.
