After his office spent a large portion of the Ksh575,963,916 budget on drinks and catering services, Deputy President William Ruto has been put on the spot.
Junet Mohamed, an Azimio La Umoja council member, claimed that DP Ruto was deliberately squandering public monies in his presidential campaign, claiming that the expenditure was illegal.
Junet chastised Ruto for spending Ksh46 million on refreshments in his remarks. According to the Member of Parliament, the DP spent Ksh23,967,500 on catering services in fiscal year 2022/2023.
He went on to say that the same thing happened in fiscal year 2021/2022, when a total of Ksh23,967,500 was spent on hospitality services out of a total budget of Ksh562,409,292.
Junet claims that the DP is still a government servant who should not run for office using public funds, and that the IEBC should take action against the country’s second in command.
“Section 107 of the Elections Act states that a member of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission, or any person designated by the Commission, shall have the power to impound or to order the impounding of any state resources used in an election campaign,” Junet’s statement read in part.
“The use of state resources confers on the Deputy President undue advantage over his competitors and must be put to a stop immediately.
“The Deputy President has, with impunity, continued to host delegations of UDA supporters in the official residence of the Deputy President,” the statement reads.
Junet claimed that DP Ruto was also using state officials and public officers to promote for him in traditional and social media venues.
He accused the gang of propagandizing and inciting violence. Davis Chirchir, DP Ruto’s Chief of Staff, Emmanuel Talam, Legal Advisor Korir Sing’Oei, and Communication Secretaries David Mugonyi and Munyori Buku are among those singled out by Junet.
“The active involvement in campaigning by officers who draw their salaries and allowances from the taxpayers and more so to spread hate and vitriol against other candidates is unacceptable and expressly forbidden by section 23 (2) of the Leadership and Integrity Act.
“With such unprecedented impunity, it is almost certain that the entire allocation of close to Ksh150,000,000, constituting both salaries and allowances, is used to pay the Deputy President’s campaign staff and not public officers,” Junet stated.
The role of CSs and other noteworthy public workers in the campaigns has been the subject of heated controversy.
UDA has openly chastised ministers who have stated their presidential candidate of choice, and has urged the President to rein in his Cabinet.
