Homa Bay Governor Cyprian Awiti suspended 309 workers on Monday after an audit revealed they were hired in an irregular manner.
County Payroll Manger Joseph Omondi was also suspended for allegedly authorising payments to people who did not deserve it.
Awiti noted the irregular payments culminated in the loss of funds.
“The audit revealed serious misuse of funds. This cannot be entertained anymore. We’re sending them home to pave way for further investigations,” Awiti told reporters in his office after meeting his Cabinet.
The county formed a task force that looked into 640 employees from January. Their salary payments were stopped during the probe headed by Deputy County Secretary James Mokaya.
“The 227 workers whose contracts are validated by the audit will be paid the salaries they missed,” Awiti said.
The Governor said the audit found the county had been paying 104 ghost workers.
“The ghost workers were unable to present their academic letters to the task force, besides failing to respond to their questions,” he said.
The task force also reported that169 workers lacked appointment letters and could not explain how their names ended up in the payroll.
Twenty six employees were serving in positions that required more academic credentials than they had.
