At the heart of the scandal lies a jaw-dropping figure, Sh6.3 billion owed to just four advocates. This sum alone swallows 29 per cent of all pending legal fees, which now stand at Sh21.4 billion. The legal debt, some stretching back to the 1980s, represents 11 per cent of all pending county bills. With 1,086 active lawsuits hanging over City Hall, the Auditor General warns that a wave of adverse judgments could devastate the capital’s ability to deliver essential services.
But the rot runs deeper. The report questions how 65 cases found their way to only eight lawyers out of 350 prequalified advocates, with no explanation from county officials. In the meantime, taxpayers are left footing inflated bills: a garbage collection dispute that began with an unpaid Sh358.8 million swelled to Sh539.5 million after interest and penalties; an unfair dismissal case for 13 workers cost Sh24.3 million, plus Sh10 million more for delayed payment.
And while legal costs mount, the payroll system tells its own sordid tale. Thousands of staff share bank accounts, branch codes and agent codes, while 74 officers share identical names. Some draw salaries higher than their job group ceilings, while others pocket pay without any tax deductions. In one year, Nairobi paid Sh5.39 million in net salary overpayments, Sh8.4 million in excessive gross pay, and allowed Sh148.6 million in untaxed earnings to slip through the cracks.
The anomalies multiply: duplicate National ID numbers used to collect both health worker stipends and county salaries; 3,216 officers changing job groups more than once in a year; 197 officers with mysteriously shifting birth dates; payroll numbers linked to multiple IDs and Tax PINs. The irregularities point to a system vulnerable to manipulation and exploitation.
Even retirement rules are ignored. Seventeen officers beyond the legal age of 60 remain in service, pocketing Sh1.7 million in defiance of Public Service Commission regulations. Auditor General Gathungu’s verdict is damning. Nairobi County’s management has failed to curb losses, prevent unnecessary interest and penalty payments, or implement safeguards to protect public funds. Unless urgent reforms take hold, the capital could find itself drowning in debts of its own making, while residents continue to pay the price in broken services and shattered trust.
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