William Ruto's money men

Cash being handed out by the Kenya Kwanza government's ‘empowerment’ battalion has come back to haunt them, with a court case seeking to have the group led by Deputy President Kithure Kindiki account for the source of the funds.

President William Ruto’s aide, Farouk Kibet, Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi, Speaker of the National Assembly Moses Wetangula, and Majority Leader in the National Assembly Kimani Ichungwah have also been named in the suit before High Court Judge Chacha Mwita.

Others are Kilimilili MP Didmus Barasa, Kapseret MP Oscar Sudi, Kericho County Senator Aaron Cheruiyot, and Silvanus Osoro (MP South Mugirango).

In the case, lawyer Kelvin Kipchirchir has also roped in Attorney General, Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission, and Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi, arguing that the money being handed out has never been gazetted, budgeted for such kind of exercises and cannot be accounted for.

According to Kipchirchir, the money is being used to advance a political agenda, with the public officers handing out money and items to prop up their support bases.

“Crucially, these ‘empowerment’ initiatives are not gazetted, documented, or managed as official government policies, programmes, or projects by any government ministry, department, or agency, including the National Treasury or other relevant State Departments.

“There is no public record of budgetary allocation for these specific activities,” said Kipchirchir in his court papers filed by KK Waweru Advocates.

If the numbers in court are to go by, Kindiki is alleged to have given out more than Sh1 billion total, while Sudi followed with Sh145 million.

He argued that the amount of money and items given so far does not match the earnings and known wealth of the empowerment brigade.

“These distributions typically occur during public gatherings, political rallies, and other events where the implicated officers are present in their official capacities and utilise public platforms and resources such as security, and official vehicles... No verifiable explanation or accountability has been provided to the public regarding the immense scale of these personal contributions,” he continued.

He singled out Kindiki, saying that he appears to be the face of the programme. According to him, Kindiki handed out more than Sh100 million in various counties, but focusing on the Mt Kenya region, where he made about 40 trips on diverse dates in June alone.

At the same time, he said Kindiki separately gave out Sh2 million in South Mugirango and another equal amount in Meru, and in Kigumo, where he gave Sh5 million.

On the other hand, the lawyer claimed that on June 6, Sudi equally handed over Sh100 million in cash and goods worth Sh45 million in a political event where Mbadi and Ichung’wah were in attendance.

The court heard that on July 3, 202,5, in Taita Taveta in yet another forum, Cabinet Secretary for Mining and Blue Economy Ali Hassan Joho was seen dishing out Sh1 million while Ichung’wa gave Sh500,000.

In the same event, in the coastal county, Kipchirchir said the Cabinet Secretary for Youth Affairs, Creative Economy and Sports, Salim Mvury, gave Sh1 million. In contrast, Wetangula gave Sh600,000 and Kindiki, Sh4.5 million. 

The following day, he stated that the team went to Kilifi North Constituency, where the governor Abdulswamad Sharrif Nassir is seen giving Sh700,000, while Kindiki gave Sh4.5 million, and Mvurya handed out Sh500,000. Barasa was said to have given out Sh100,000.

 They also went to Jilore Grounds, Malindi Constituency, for another empowerment program where Barasa gave Sh180,000, Cynthia Muge Sh100,000, nominated MP Sabina Chege, Sh100,000, Mvurya Sh500,000, while Governor Gideon Mung’aro gave Sh1.3 million and Kindiki, another Sh4.5 million.

In the meantime, in Jomvu, Farouk is said to have been given Sh300,000, and Ichung’wah Sh500,000 and Kindiki gave a similar amount as in other forums.

In Likoni, the team again gave money, with DP being said to have given another Sh4.5 million, the same as in Lamu. However, Kipchirchir alleged that President Ruto’s deputy reduced the amount to Sh4.2 million in Kiminini and Kipkeikei's grounds in Cherangany Constituency.

The lawyer also claimed the team again dished out cash with Kindiki giving between Sh4.2 million and Sh4.5 million in Emurua Dikirr, Narok County, Gokeharaka, Kura East, Ruiru, Gachie, Busende Matayos, Mukumu, Kajiado Central, Kajiado West, Muhoroni, Murang’a, Ong’er in Nyatike Constituency, Kanduyi, where Wetang’ula and Kindiki allegedly gave Sh1 million and Sh4.5 million respectively.

According to him, philanthropy is in contrast to the government’s inability to adequately fund and deliver essential basic services to Kenyans, including healthcare, education, social welfare, and infrastructure development.

“The timing and manner of these distributions often coincide with periods of heightened political activity, including pre-election campaigns or efforts to bolster political support, thereby raising serious concerns of undue influence and electoral manipulation,” argued Kipchirchir.

He continued: “The stark dichotomy between the visible, lavish, and unaccounted-for 'personal' distributions by State officers on one hand, and the government’s persistent struggles and cited fiscal constraints in delivering fundamental public services on the other, profoundly violates this legitimate expectation. It generates a perilous precedent that access to resources is a matter of discretionary handouts rather than a fundamental right, thereby fostering dependency and eroding trust in the State’s capacity to fulfil its constitutional mandate.”

He stated that the officials participating in such exercises have violated national values, ethics and principles of good governance, as there is no transparency on the source of funds, and there is no way to account for what is given out.

According to him, there is no public participation from the Kenyans to indicate what they want, how it should be disbursed, and to whom it should be handed.

He wants the court to find that the distribution of the money and items from unverified sources,  disguised government programs, is illegal and unconstitutional. At the same time, he is asking the court to order EACC to probe the exercise.

The lawyer further wants the court to find that Kindiki and the team have violated the Public Officers Ethics Act and the Leadership and Integrity Act.

He is also seeking an order that they are engaging the programs that amount to bribery as defined under the Bribery Act, 2016 and are meant to undermine the integrity of the electoral process.

“While the officers may not be formally “campaigning,” the systematic distribution of valuable items and money by political leaders to influence public opinion and loyalty, particularly with a view to future elections, falls squarely within the definitions of Bribery (Section 2 of the Bribery Act). This compromises the integrity of future elections and the very essence of free and fair electoral processes,” he stated.

He is also asking the court to force the Treasury CS to issue a circular barring public officers from incurring any expenditure or distribution of funds to the Kenyans unless such expenditure is appropriated, budgeted for, and accounted for within the framework of the Public Finance Management Act, 2012.

According to the lawyer, even if the money came from individual pockets, the exercises amount to misuse and abuse.

“The Respondents’ conduct is not honest, abuses office, and involves misuse of resources (even if claimed personal, public platforms are used) in violation of Section 14 of the Act on moral and ethical requirements,” argued Kipchirchir.