Siaya County Government sacks 382 health workers over forged documents

At least 382 health workers have been dismissed by the Siaya County Government over claims they were irregularly hired using forged documents, sparking anger and confusion among those who say they have worked for months without pay.

According to the County Public Service Board, an audit carried out with the Directorate of Criminal Investigations revealed massive irregularities in the recruitment process.

The county said the revelation came after more than 500 people complained of not receiving salaries despite serving in various health facilities.

Siaya County Public Service Board chief executive officer, Wilfred Ouma Nyagudi, explained that the investigation uncovered glaring discrepancies.

“We noted several issues. Some of them were inconsistencies in the sequence of reference letters. Any letter we issue, such as deployments, must be signed by the chief of health. We had cases where somebody had a deployment letter dated earlier than their appointment,” Nyagudi said.

He noted that the board ordered the affected workers to present their appointment, offer, deployment and arrival letters for validation.

“Other than appointment letters, we undertook verification of the names of the affected officers against the applicants from our database records. We also checked the names against the shortlisted candidates for the said positions. The board went further to check the names against the interviewees' list,” Nyagudi explained.

He added that signatures of the County Public Service Board chairperson were also scrutinised to establish whether forgeries had been committed.

“During the validation process, we established that only 120 out of the 502 officers were employed through the regular process. When they were reporting, some unscrupulous individuals took advantage of the situation and brought in others. It was clear that the majority, 382, did not have authentic letters. We have reported it to the police, and investigations are going on,” he said.

But the affected workers have rejected the findings, insisting they were duly employed, served diligently, and even completed their probation period.

“Employment letters were given to us in December, and we reported in January. We have been diligent, we have been working. There is also a six-month probation period before confirmation into the system, and during that time, documents are supposed to be verified by the relevant bodies. That process was done,” Emily Nabwala Anyango, a clinical officer, said.

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