EACC Recovers Over KES 39 Million in Illegal Allowances from National Treasury Officials
Some payments were made based on outdated or revoked government circulars, while others were entirely fabricated or duplicated.
EACC recovers over KES 39 million in illegal allowances from National Treasury officials in landmark anti-corruption court ruling. Photo/EACC.
By Robert Assad
The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) has successfully recovered over KES 39 million in fraudulently paid allowances from two senior officials at the National Treasury, in a major victory for the anti-graft agency.
In a landmark ruling delivered on June 4, 2025, Hon. Lady Justice L.M. Njuguna of the Anti-Corruption and Economic Crimes Division of the High Court found that Mr. Robert Theuri Murage and Ms. Doris Nafula Simiyu had illegally received public funds in the guise of various allowances, including task force, entertainment, facilitation, and extraneous payments.
According to court documents, the allowances were paid between January 2020 and June 2022 without proper authorization from the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC), as required under Article 230 of the Constitution.
Some payments were made based on outdated or revoked government circulars, while others were entirely fabricated or duplicated.
The court ordered Mr. Murage to refund KES 20,318,000, including KES 11,078,601 held in his Equity Bank account, which will be forfeited to the state. He is required to repay the remaining KES 9,239,398.17 in cash. Meanwhile, Ms. Simiyu was ordered to return KES 18,862,000, of which KES 8,953,988.74 will be forfeited from her National Bank account, and the balance of KES 9,908,011.26 to be repaid directly.
The judgment stems from an EACC investigation launched in July 2022, following public reports of systemic financial malpractice within the National Treasury. The Commission’s probe revealed that the two officials had manipulated internal processes to award themselves multiple and overlapping allowances, enriching themselves unjustly at the expense of the taxpayer.
In its ruling, the court reaffirmed that SRC advisories are binding, and any payment of allowances outside its framework constitutes a breach of the law. The court condemned the actions of the two officials as a deliberate scheme to defraud the government.
EACC has hailed the judgment as a significant milestone in its efforts to combat corruption and recover misappropriated public funds. The Commission reiterated its commitment to pursuing all individuals involved in the misuse of public resources and holding them accountable through legal means.
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