County ordered to pay ex-employee Sh1m for defamation
A Kenyan court has ordered the Homa Bay county government to pay Sh1 million to a former employee for defamation. The court ruled that the county wrongly labeled the individual as a 'ghost worker' in an official audit, which damaged his professional reputation.
Why it matters
This case highlights the legal risks and reputational consequences of administrative errors in public sector human resources management.
Oyugis Law Court has ordered the county government of Homa Bay to pay its former employee, Richard Bonyo, Sh1 million for defaming him. Bonyo, a former advisor for resource mobilisation in the previous administration of former governor Cyprian Awiiti, complained that Governor Gladys Wanga's government had referred to him as a ghost worker. He sued the county government after his name featured in a 2024 list of "ghost workers " who were to be removed from the payroll of the county government workers. Bonyo was erroneously mentioned as a county staff member who was drawing salaries without offering services. He filed a case in the court saying that inclusion of his name had injured his reputation. Bonyo told the court that his contract ended on September 1, 2022, when Governor Wanga's administration took over from Awiti's government.
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