The clerk of Taita Taveta County Assembly Gadiel Maganga presented himself before the Mombasa Anti-Corruption Court on Tuesday to answer to charges of abuse of office.

The clerk was summoned over accusations of facilitating fraudulent payments amounting to Ksh.3.9 million for a bonding and merry-making trip to Zanzibar taken by county officials, including 21 MCAs, in 2022.

According to the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC), investigations found that the MCAs were overpaid in daily subsistence allowances while some of those who were paid did not travel.

“Between the months of October 2022 and November 2022 at the County Assembly of Taita Taveta within the Republic of Kenya, being a public officer to wit Clerk of the County Assembly of Taita Taveta, used your office to improperly confer a benefit of Ksh. 3,943,033.98 to twenty-six (26) employees of Taita Taveta County Assembly... while attending a training in Zanzibar by authorizing payment voucher for full daily subsistence allowance whilst knowing that the said employees were not entitled to full daily subsistence allowance since their accommodation had been catered for,” reads court papers.

EACC says it is also recovering the lost funds from the county officials.

Case documents show that some of the county officials received allowances upwards of Ksh.265,000 for the trip.