The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) has secured a court order requiring former Homa Bay County Assembly Clerk Bob Kephas Otieno and two others to pay the government KSh12.57 million over irregular payments from the assembly’s salary suspense account.
In a judgment delivered on October 16, 2026, Justice Benjamin Musyoki ruled in favour of the commission, finding that payments totalling KSh12,571,166.50 made to Lillian Achieng and David Obonyo under the guise of salaries were fraudulent and unlawful.
The case arose from investigations into transfers made between December 24, 2015, and December 22, 2017, from the county assembly’s salary suspense account to a joint bank account held by Achieng and Obonyo.
According to the EACC, Otieno authorised the transfers while serving as the assembly clerk, despite neither recipient being an employee of the county assembly or county government.
Investigations established that Achieng was a teacher employed by the Teachers Service Commission, while Obonyo was the Business Growth and Development Manager at Equity Bank’s Homa Bay branch at the time.
The commission said neither recipient was a supplier or contractor to the county government or assembly, and that the transactions were made on sporadic dates in amounts inconsistent with regular salary payments.
The EACC subsequently filed a recovery suit seeking the return of the funds under ACEC Suit No. E011 of 2022.
In its ruling, the court held Otieno liable for causing the loss of public funds through corrupt and fraudulent conduct. Achieng and Obonyo were also found liable for receiving public money for work not done or services not rendered.
The commission said the judgment reinforces its efforts to recover public funds lost through corruption and ensure those responsible are held accountable.
