Kenya got its first Deputy President on April 9, 2013, when William Ruto was sworn into the position at Kasarani Stadium in Nairobi under the devolved system of governance.
With the introduction of the Office of Deputy President, the Treasury factored it into the 2013/2014 financial year budget.
At the time, Ruto’s office was allocated a modest Ksh90 million with his expenditure controlled from the State House by former President Uhuru Kenyatta.
This amount has risen significantly over the years and in the 2024/25 Financial Year, Ruto’s successor Rigathi Gachagua was allocated Ksh4.9 billion.
Additionally, Gachagua’s office through an executive order by President William Ruto had an independent budget from that of the State House.
In the 2013/2014 Financial Year, the whole presidency was allocated Ksh1.2 billion which is dwarfed by close to Ksh20 billion allocated in the current financial year.
For example, the State House in the current financial year received Ksh9.5 billion but in the first year under devolved government, all State Houses and Lodges shared part of the Ksh1.2 billion.
In the 2014/2015 Financial Year, the Deputy President’s office received a substantial rise in budget allocation from Ksh90 million to Ksh596 million.
The amount has been rising steeply over the years despite Kenya’s economy being at risk of collapse due to a ballooning public debt.
The 2016/17 financial year marked the last time the office was allocated less than Ksh1 billion for expenditure with Ruto’s office then getting Ksh951 million.
In the last budget prepared by Uhuru’s administration for the 2022/2023 Financial Year, then-Finance Cabinet Secretary Ukur Yatani allocated Ruto’s office Ksh1.7 billion.
Ruto transitioned to Head of State in September 2022 and in his first budget which covered the 2023/2024 Financial Year, his successor received a Ksh3.3 billion budget which was almost double that prepared by Ukuru Yatan.
Despite the Kenya Kwanza administration's calling for austerity measures, the budget allocation for the DP's office has continued to rise to the current Ksh4.9 billion.
