- High Court directs Treasury officer Faith Jematia Kiptis to return KSh67.6 million
- She received illegal payments in the form of fake taskforce and entertainment allowances
- EACC investigations revealed overlapping and unapproved payments
- The court also seized over KSh8.7 million in her bank accounts
- Suspected corruption funds were allegedly used to acquire properties in Syokimau, Kilifi, and Mombasa
- Kiptis to pay interest and legal costs until the full amount is recovered
Faith Jematia Kiptis, a senior official in the Ministry of Treasury and Planning, has been ordered by the High Court to return KSh67,664,975 after it was confirmed that she received illegal payments disguised as allowances. The court heard that she was paid taskforce, facilitation, entertainment, and extraneous allowances that were not only unauthorised, but also non-existent.
Delivering the judgment on Tuesday, July 15, Justice Musyoki of the Anti-Corruption and Economic Crimes Division found Kiptis guilty of benefiting from fraudulent transactions between January 2020 and June 2022. The court further directed the forfeiture of KSh2.4 million from her Equity Bank account and KSh6.3 million from her KCB account.
The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) told the court that none of the payments received by Kiptis were approved by the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC), which makes them illegal under public service regulations. The court also emphasised that SRC’s role in approving payments is legally binding, and criticised the Treasury for allowing such payouts without proper oversight.
EACC investigators believe Kiptis may have used the stolen funds to purchase properties in high-value areas. These include an apartment in Syokimau, a plot in Shanzu, Mombasa, and another eighth-acre plot in Kilifi. The court previously froze these assets under preservation orders issued in November 2022 to prevent any transfer while the probe was ongoing.
This case is part of a larger EACC operation targeting fraudulent allowance schemes within the National Treasury. According to the agency, they have now recovered over KSh174 million from multiple officers involved in similar corruption activities.
