Nandi County Governor Stephen Sang has terminated the contracts of 1,800 employees, citing widespread corruption in the county’s human resources department. The move comes after two failed audits and mounting evidence of bribery and fraud in the hiring process, which Sang said had undermined the county’s payroll system for over a decade.
“We must fix the human resource challenge. Others say attempts have been made before, but they didn’t succeed. This time, I’m going to implement 100% of the recommendations from the human resource audit reports,” Sang said at a press conference on Monday, signalling his intention to address what he termed a systemic issue in Nandi County’s employment structure.
The governor’s decision comes in response to revelations that county employees had paid bribes to secure jobs and have their names added to the payroll. “Some of the staff are already coming out and speaking, bringing evidence that I sent money to so-and-so and they gave me an appointment letter. I gave this amount of money to someone in payroll and my name was added,” Sang disclosed, underscoring the depth of the corruption allegations.
The sweeping dismissals come after years of failed attempts to address the county’s bloated payroll, which had been exacerbated by questionable hiring practices dating back to 2013. Despite previous efforts to audit and streamline human resources, the issue had remained unresolved, leading to growing discontent among county officials and the public.
Sang vowed that all recommendations from the human resource audit reports would be implemented without exception, adding, “I’m not going to cherry-pick recommendations to implement. We will sort out this mess once and for all.”
In addition to the sackings, the governor has promised to pursue legal action against those involved in the corruption scandal. “We will push the agencies of government to hold everybody responsible,” he said, indicating that the matter would not rest with the termination of employees but would extend to financial recovery efforts.
Sang warned that individuals who benefited from these irregularities would face legal consequences, including the repayment of any illegally acquired salaries and benefits. “The next legal process is that they will be pursued for the recovery of resources the county government may have lost,” he added.
His announcement, however, has been met with opposition from some of the affected staff, who have threatened to disrupt county operations. In response, Sang issued a stern warning: “Any individual who attempts to disrupt the functioning and operations of the county government of Nandi, whether it is revenue collection or operations in health facilities, will face consequences as criminals or offenders of the law.”
The dismissed employees have been given 14 days to appeal their termination through the Public Service Commission, the County Public Service Board, or the courts. “The options are clear. You can raise the matter with the Public Service Commission, the County Public Service Board, or go to court,” Sang said.
