The e-Citizen platform, which was supposed to make it easier for Kenyans to access government services like paying for IDs and licenses, and other essential government services is now being linked to a massive financial scandal.
An audit report by the Auditor General has found that over Ksh 11 billion may have been moved from public systems into private accounts.
The report covers the years 2021/22 to 2023/24 and shows serious issues with how the platform has been managed and used.
One of the most shocking discoveries was a payment of Sh127.9 million made on January 25, 2024, to private firms, including Wandaubu Associates Limited and Gold Rock Capital Ltd.
It’s still unclear who owns Gold Rock Capital, which makes the issue even more suspicious. The audit also found that about Sh6.3 billion went missing from the Pesaflow account, mostly due to duplicate and partial payments.
On top of that, users were charged a flat Sh50 or $1 per transaction as a convenience fee, even when the correct fee should have been lower.
This led to an overcharge of about Sh2.2 billion. There’s also Sh7.1 billion still sitting with financial service providers instead of going to the government.
The platform is being run by Webmasters Ltd, even though the system was officially handed over to the National Treasury back in 2017.
There’s no proper legal framework in place, and there are no agreements that explain who is responsible for what. That means there is no clear oversight, and public money can be misused more easily.
The Public Accounts Committee has described the platform as a crime scene, and MPs are calling for a full shutdown and investigation.
Senior officials from the Treasury, Immigration, and ICT ministries have been summoned to explain what happened.
On social media, Kenyans are angry and frustrated. Many say they’ve lost trust in the platform and are worried about making any future payments through it.
Some even joked that instead of chasing petty thieves, the DCI and EACC should focus on the real thieves stealing billions.
This scandal has raised major concerns about whether Kenya’s digital systems are secure and whether government bodies can be trusted to manage public money.
With so many major banks and private players involved, it’s going to take time and transparency to get to the bottom of it.
For now, e-Citizen, which started as a helpful tool, is a perfect example of what can go wrong when there’s no proper control or accountability.
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