The Widows and Orphans Act, the Asian Widows and Orphans Act, and the Asian Of’cers Family Pensions Act, which allow for contributory plans for Europeans and Asians through Crown Agents, are the laws that establish the payouts.
The Auditor-General Nancy Gathungu has been given six months by members of Parliament to look into the millions of shillings that Kenya continues to pay to British retirees who left the country in 1963 after Kenya gained her independence from the Brits.
According to Treasury, the Kenyan government budgeted an additional Sh42 million to pay the colonial retirees in the 2023/2024 fiscal year after spending Sh150 million to pay these pensions in the 2022–2023 fiscal year.
The annual pension expense is for Asian and European retirees who were born between 1930 and 1940 has stayed around Sh150 million for the last six decades.
MPs are now wondering if Treasury may be paying phantom beneficiaries given that the identities of the beneficiaries are not fully known.
The Widows and Orphans Act, the Asian Widows and Orphans Act, and the Asian Of’cers Family Pensions Act, which allow for contributory plans for Europeans and Asians through Crown Agents, are the laws that establish the payouts.
The Public Debt and Privatization Committee of the National Assembly has requested that Ms. Gathungu carry out an exclusive audit on the millions of shillings that Kenya has been paying these colonial pensions every year since 1963.
The call for the special probe follows questions raised by Ms. Gathungu and Controller of Budget Dr. Margaret Nyakang’o over the authenticity of the payments.
“By December 31, 2023, the office of the Auditor-General should undertake a special audit on pensions relating to pensioners paid through the Crown Agents Bank in the UK and submit a report to the National Assembly within the stipulated timeframe,” said Dr. Makali Mulu, who is the vice-chairperson of the committee, in the report tabled in the National Assembly.
