Audit report reveals taxpayers paid Sh3 million rent for former Prisons boss
According to the audit, the State Department for Correctional Services signed a tenancy agreement with a private service provider to lease a house for Warioba at Sh250,000 per month.
Taxpayers footed a Sh3 million rent bill for former Kenya Prisons Service Commissioner General Brigadier (Rtd) John Warioba, despite him being entitled to a housing allowance, Auditor General Nancy Gathungu in her report for the financial year 2023/24 has revealed.
Gathungu flagged the payment, stating that the provision of a leased house accorded the former boss more benefits than his entitlement, noting that he was only eligible for Sh100,000 monthly in housing allowance.
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According to the audit, the State Department for Correctional Services signed a tenancy agreement with a private service provider to lease a house for Warioba at Sh250,000 per month. This brought the total rent paid to Sh3 million in the year under review.
“The Commissioner General’s letter of appointment did not indicate that his terms of employment included provision of a leased residential house and therefore, the basis for the leasing of the house was not clear,” the Auditor General said.
Gathungu said the payment contravened a directive by the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC), which under Article 230 (4) (b) of the Constitution is mandated to advise the government on the remuneration and benefits of all State and public officers. She further observed that no evidence had been presented to show that the lease was registered with the State Department for Housing and Urban Development, as the law requires.
Warioba was appointed by former President Uhuru Kenyatta on November 17, 2021, following the dismissal of Wycliffe Ogalo. He retired in July 2024 and handed over to his successor, Patrick Aranduh, who was appointed by President William Ruto on July 12, 2024.
During the handover ceremony, Warioba remarked: “I retire with my head high and proud to have served the Prisons Department.”
Beyond the irregular housing benefits for the former boss, the Auditor General also exposed glaring disparities in the housing conditions of prison officers. She revealed that senior officers are allocated houses originally meant for junior staff, forcing newly recruited officers to live in temporary shanties.
The audit shows that some recruits are accommodated in open halls and stores partitioned with cardboard, newspapers, bed sheets, or polythene sheets. Many of the structures lack basic amenities such as water and sanitation.
“The officers who reported that their houses were in bad condition also reported that their family life is affected. They are embarrassed to host visitors and lack privacy, among other challenges,” reads the report.
The performance review further observed that most prison staff houses are in a dilapidated state, with broken doors and windows, leaking roofs, damaged walls, and run-down facilities.
This, Gathungu noted, undermines Article 43 (1) (b) of the Constitution, which guarantees every Kenyan the right to accessible and adequate housing. The report further noted that management had agreed that at the very least, a decent house for junior officers should be a self-contained single room.
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