Auditor General flags 27K illegal hires across 41 counties over 3 years
By Aloys Michael, January 25, 2026More than 27,000 workers were unlawfully hired across 41 counties between the 2021/22 and 2023/24 financial years, highlighting serious weaknesses in workforce planning and budgetary control that could undermine service delivery.
The Auditor reports indicate that governors disregarded recruitment regulations, exposing devolved units to the risk of excessive staffing.
Special audits of county payroll systems reveal widespread irregularities, with thousands of employees hired without approved recruitment plans or budgetary provisions during the review period.
The findings indicate that only six counties recorded zero new hires, raising concerns about compliance with public finance and human resource regulations.
Uasin Gishu County led the country, employing 3,982 new workers (excluding casuals) between 2021/22 and 2023/24. It was followed by Kitui County with 1,715 workers, Trans Nzoia with 1,082 and Turkana with 1,054.
“The county executive recruited 3,982 employees during the three financial years. However, it was established that the recruiting departments did not have annual recruitment plans to guide the recruitment,” Auditor General Nancy Gathungu said in a special audit on Uasin Gishu County’s payroll management.
“The lack of annual recruitment plans can result in either overstaffing, understaffing, or hiring for roles that do not align with organisational priorities.”
Uasin Gishu accounted for 14.6 per cent of all new hires across the 41 counties, a surge that drove its wage bill to 41.7 per cent, well above the legally mandated ceiling of 35 per cent.
The Auditor General faulted county governments for recruiting staff without proper mechanisms to assess departmental requirements or verify the availability of budgetary resources.
“This puts the counties at the risk of having excess numbers of staff in some departments while starving others, which affects the delivery of services,” Gathungu said.
Other counties with high numbers of new hires over the three-year period were Bomet (1,046), Nyamira (1,031), Nakuru (985), Nairobi (965), Narok (923), and Laikipia (913), rounding out the top ten.
Gathungu also pointed to recruitment irregularities in several counties.
“The recruitment process revealed several weaknesses, including instances where recruitments were done without advertisements being made, recruitment for individuals who had not applied for the advertised positions, and confirming budget availability after advertisements for recruitment were published,” she said.
The public auditor warned that such practices undermine transparency, fairness and compliance with recruitment procedures.
She noted that they also risk allowing the hiring of unqualified or ineligible individuals, further straining counties’ financial resources.