The High Court has ordered former Homa Bay County Assembly Clerk Bob Kephas Otieno and two other individuals to repay Sh12.57 million in public funds irregularly paid out of the assembly’s salary suspense account.
In a judgment delivered on October 16, 2026, Justice Benjamin Musyoki ruled that Sh12,571,166.50 transferred to Lillian Achieng and David Obonyo between 2015 and 2017 was unlawfully disbursed under the pretext of salary payments. The case followed investigations by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) into suspicious transactions involving funds held in the county assembly’s salary suspense account.
Investigators established that Otieno, who served as the assembly clerk at the time, authorised transfers totalling Sh12.57 million to a joint bank account belonging to Achieng and Obonyo between December 24, 2015, and December 22, 2017. However, neither recipient was employed by the Homa Bay County Assembly or the county government, raising questions about the basis for the payments.
Court findings indicated that Achieng was employed as a teacher by the Teachers Service Commission, while Obonyo worked as the Business Growth and Development Manager at Equity Bank’s Homa Bay branch during the period under investigation.
The two were also found not to have been suppliers or contractors providing services to the county government or the assembly.
The commission argued that the transactions were inconsistent with legitimate salary payments because they involved varying amounts transferred on irregular dates. Consequently, the EACC filed a recovery case in the Anti-Corruption and Economic Crimes Division under case number E011 of 2022, seeking the return of the disputed funds.
In its ruling, the court found Otieno responsible for the loss of public money through corrupt and fraudulent conduct. Achieng and Obonyo were also held liable for receiving public funds for work not performed or services not provided.
The judgment paves the way for the recovery of Sh12,571,166.50 for the government following the court’s determination that the payments were unlawful.
