A wave of anxiety has gripped state departments and agencies after President William Ruto issued a tough warning against corruption.
The President through the Head of the Public Service Felix Koskei on Tuesday put public officers on notice, telling them that they will take personal responsibility for graft that happens under their watch.
It has now emerged that Heads of agencies, especially accounting officers, are treading carefully fearing that they could be fired if corruption issues emerge in their respective dockets.
A senior public officer who sought anonymity told the Star that it is no longer business as usual in state departments with accounting officers handling everything with white gloves.
"They are now meticulous and following laid down procedures, in fact, they are now insisting on written correspondences and no longer take verbal orders," said the official.
The President has maintained that any public servant caught engaging in corruption will be dealt with mercilessly and that his office will not condone corruption.
The warning comes hot on the heels of two corruption scandals that have rocked the Kenya Kwanza administration including the sugar scam and the mosquitos scandal at the Kenya Medical Supplies Authority.
There have been claims that some senior government officials are using their position to pile pressure on accounting officers to give them favours.
In a circular dated May 23, 2023, Koskei said the President will deal firmly with incidents of corruption among Cabinet Secretaries, Principal Secretaries and top government officials.
"In line with the President's proclamation, it is hereby reiterated that those responsible for the management of public resources will be held personally accountable for any loss or misuse of public resources,'' reads part of the circular.
The circular is addressed to Cabinet Secretaries, Principle Secretaries, the attorney general, government accounting officers, chairpersons of state enterprises and all chief executive officers.
The President directed all ministries and departments to take necessary measures to prevent corruption through anti-corruption measures.
"The President as the premier defender of the constitution has delegated some of his executive powers to your respective offices. Consequently, you are personally responsible for any breach of the legal and policy provisions governing the exercise of your powers in the use of public resources,'' the letter adds.
The President, Koskei said, expects unwavering loyalty to the constitution and the people.
"Against the backdrop of these corruption cases, the president has issued a proclamation on the fight against corruption in which he categorically states that he will not tolerate corruption at any level of government and has committed himself to personally lead the fight against this vice,'' the circular stated.
Only last week, the President triggered a major shakeup at key state agencies including Kemsa, Kenya Revenue Authority and the Kenya Bureau of Standards over corruption.
Already top government officials involved in the condemned sugar scam have been arraigned.