Former Kenya Film Classification Board (KFCB) CEO Ezekiel Mutua has been ordered to refund Sh27 million he received as part of an irregular salary increase during his second term.
The State Corporations Appeal Tribunal has backed a decision requiring former KFCB boss Ezekiel Mutua to return over Sh27 million he was paid in a questionable salary increase.
Mutua’s monthly salary jumped from Sh348,840 to Sh1,115,850 after his contract was renewed in 2018 — even though the Sports Cabinet Secretary had already declined to renew his term.
The tribunal found that the KFCB board went ahead with both the contract renewal and the hefty pay raise without getting approval from key government bodies, like the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC), the State Corporations Advisory Committee (SCAC), or the Cabinet Secretary. The decision was ruled as illegal and a violation of public finance rules.
Though the Cabinet Secretary later rejected the pay hike and directed the board to recover the money, the KFCB failed to act, leading to the tribunal’s intervention.
Mutua defended himself, saying he was unaware the raise was illegal, claiming he worked “without objections or reservations” from authorities. However, the tribunal ruled that both he and Nehemiah Kipkoech, a board member who supported the raise, were liable for enabling the unlawful increment.
The tribunal declared the salary increase null and void for violating procedures and causing loss of public funds.
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