In December 2013, pensioners in Nyeri town lined up for their monthly stipends, a scene that reflects the struggles of many retirees across Kenya.
Jacob Mugadia, a former government employee who retired in 2012, tragically lost his life in a road accident five years later while returning from Nairobi, where he had gone to follow up on his unpaid pension. His daughter, Jane Migare, laments that despite numerous attempts and submitting all required documents, the family has yet to receive a single payment.
Duncan Orwa, a 65-year-old retired driver from the Ministry of Agriculture, faces a similar ordeal. Struggling with a terminal illness, he has spent years chasing his pension without success. “I’m tired of the endless process. Maybe I should just focus on meeting my creator because this pension money is not coming,” he told. His son, Patrick, revealed that a clerical error listing his father’s ID under multiple names has further complicated the process.
These cases highlight a systemic failure in Kenya’s Civil Servants Pension Scheme, marred by inefficiencies, missing records, and fraud. The Auditor General’s latest report exposed irregular payments, including Sh350 million sent to nearly 3,000 deceased claimants and Sh7.3 billion paid to individuals with questionable identification details. The report flagged missing or inaccurate tax PINs, ID numbers, and birth dates, warning that such gaps enable fraud and mismanagement.
The consequences are dire. A 2023 Kenya National Bureau of Statistics report found that 82% of senior citizens continue working in old age due to financial struggles. Many retired teachers have even petitioned Parliament over unpaid pensions, while former Kenya Railways employees, such as John Mwangi, endure months without payments despite numerous appeals.
In response, the government is conducting a fresh headcount of retirees to eliminate ghost pensioners siphoning billions from taxpayers. The Treasury has mandated self-registration through E-Citizen and Huduma Centres by February 28, warning that failure to comply will result in removal from the payroll. This digitization effort aims to streamline payments and curb fraud, but similar past attempts have yielded limited success.
Meanwhile, rising pension liabilities are adding pressure on the government, with an estimated Sh189 billion needed for the year ending June 2024, increasing to Sh207 billion in 2024-25. The ongoing debate over reducing the retirement age from 60 to 55 years has further raised concerns, with experts warning that it could strain pension funds and reduce retirement benefits. Additionally, proposed amendments to the Pensions Act seek to tie pensions to inflation adjustments, ensuring retirees’ financial security.
As the government pushes for reforms, families like Eliud Kihara’s continue to wait, hoping long-overdue pension payments will finally be disbursed, bringing an end to their years of frustration.
