State House Spokesperson Hussein Mohamed on Sunday refuted claims that the Kenya Kwanza administration had consistently failed to allocate former President Uhuru Kenyatta's Office its budget despite Parliament approving the same on several occasions.
Speaking during a press briefing, Hussein cleared the air on the matter, stating that the government had already provided an office, used by Kenya's second President Mwai Kibaki which Uhuru could use whenever he wished.
According to Hussein, the office was lying unoccupied and Uhuru was free to put in a request to use it at his earliest convenience.
“The thing is there's an office complex in Nyari that has been used by a previous president, the late President Mwai Kibaki, and he occupied that office for nine years.”
“It is very well known that the office is there, it is vacant and President Uhuru Kenyatta can use that office as and when he deems fit to use it,” stated Hussein.
Unverified media reports had indicated that the Kenya Kwanza administration had blocked funding for the Office of the Fourth President for the previous twenty months despite MPs giving the nod.
The media reports further detailed that the Ksh1 billion that was expected to be disbursed had been denied forcing Uhuru Kenyatta to pay for his expenses from his own pocket including for various engagements such as local and foreign travel.
However, in response, the Spokesperson stated that there were channels and frameworks in place for the Former President to access the funds.
“As for the other matters about budget, there are channels and mechanisms to access budget and provisions in the Office of the Fourth President and all those have been provided for officially for any official engagement,” elaborated Hussein Mohamed.
Previously, Nation had reported that Uhuru had rejected the Nyari office and wanted to use his residence near State House, Nairobi.
According to the article, the retired president was aiming to convert his private Caledonia Residence and have the State pay his rent, a request which was denied by the State.
In Kenya’s law, a retired President is entitled to an office and permanent staff, who shall be public officers remunerated on the terms dictated by the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC), a retirement package and insurance costs, among other benefits
