Revenue officers sacked for fraud

Elgeyo County Assembly. File, Standard]

Four revenue officers have been fired for allegedly defrauding the county government of an unspecified amount of money.

They are said to have stolen the money at various cess collection points.

They were shown the door just days after another officer was dismissed over the loss of Sh800.

Some of the sacked officers were working at a road block along the Iten-Eldoret road near the border of Elgeyo Marakwet and Uasin Gishu counties. Others were working at road blocks along Flax Road in Keiyo South and Chebiemit Road in Marakwet West.

County Public Service Board (CPSB) chairman Michael Lelit said the decision to sack the officers was taken after investigations linked them to fraud.

“There were eight fraud cases out of which five have been concluded. The remaining three are still under investigation. The suspects appeared before the board's investigations and disciplinary committee and due process was followed before the agency delivered the verdict,” said Mr Lelit.

In one of the sacking letters, an officer was accused of altering payment documents, leading to the loss of Sh800.

The sackings triggered uproar on social media as residents accused the county government of targeting petty offenders as those stealing millions of shillings walked free.

“This is unfair. Or maybe CPSB officials are creating vacancies for their friends and relatives. We expect the county assembly to protect the vulnerable,” said Paul Saina, a resident.

Nehemiah Kiptoo, another resident, said: “The big fish who altered the payroll and stole millions are still in their offices while an officer is being dismissed for a measly Sh800. Those employing relatives in the county, those awarding tenders to cronies, those faking project reports are still in office."

Chief's office

But addressing the public at the Kibargoi chief's office in Emsea on Monday, Lelit called for calm.

“The officer sacked for stealing Sh800 falsified a receipt. He was in charge of cess collection,” he explained.

He said the employees were given chance to defend themselves and had admitted to committing the offence.

"In this case, the punishment is fair. When the government recruited revenue officers, they were trained and warned about corruption," he said.

"The affected officers have 90 days to appeal the board's decision as Section 77 of the County Government Act provides for this opportunity."

He said the officers could either appeal to the board or to the Public Service Commission.