Anti-FGM Board hit by claims of unremitted SHA, Helb and NSSF deductions

In November 2025, Maasai elders from Kajiado and Narok declared a historic end to female genital mutilation (FGM), committing to protecting girls and ensuring equal community blessings and social inclusion for both circumcised and uncircumcised young women.

Representing 17 sub-clans, Maasai cultural leaders and councils of elders formally announced that FGM had to stop, during an event in Suswa. They decreed that uncut girls and women would hold an equal and rightful place in the community, allowing them to freely participate in traditional ceremonies without discrimination or stigma.

The bold decision was good news and a major boost in the fight against FGM, as Narok and Kajiado are two of Kenya’s 22 hotspot counties. Elders are perceived to hold immense power as custodians of culture. The event was organised by the Anti-FGM Board, a state agency mandated to eliminate the vice.

Complaints

However, the board is now at the centre of a complaint by some of its members of staff who have raised the alarm over its expenditure, and hiring and promotion of staff. Documents seen by the Nation show that the elders were paid Sh11,000 each in November last year during the Maasai Declaration in Suswa. In total, the board used Sh720,000 to cater for allowances for elders and staff at the event.

In Kuria, documents show that the police, children’s officer and a deputy county commissioner were paid more than Sh630,000 for anti-FGM surveillance during the 2024 December school holidays. An internal memo in the Nation’s possession, sent to the board’s chief executive officer by the programmes department, shows that 20 police officers were paid Sh630,000 for 30 days, while the children’s officer and the deputy county commissioner each received Sh90,000, with the sub-county police commander getting Sh30,000 for coordinating the surveillance.

“The purpose of this memo is to request your approval of Sh640,000 being facilitation for police officers who will be involved on rescue missions and patrols, the children’s officer who will take a leading role in transitioning girls at risk to rescue centres and reintegrating them into the community, and the DCC (deputy county commissioner) and OCPD (officer commanding police division) who will be coordinating the entire process,” reads part of the memo.

The aggrieved staff argue that the police and administrators did not deserve the money because that is the work they were employed to do and for which they are provided with government resources. They have lodged complaints with the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) and the Directorate of Criminal Investigations, alleging that for several months, deductions for the Social Health Authority (SHA), Pay As You Earn, National Social Security Fund, Higher Education Loans Board (Helb) and Affordable Housing Levy have continued to appear on employees’ payslips, but some of these deductions were reportedly not remitted to the relevant institutions.