Bungoma Governor Kenneth Lusaka on Wednesday, 12 February, courted controversy after a newspaper advert featuring his message to Raila Odinga emerged.
The governor dedicated nearly half a page in one of the local dailies to send Odinga messages of goodwill ahead of the former Prime Minister's bid for the African Union Chairperson elections on Saturday, 15 February.
In his message, Lusaka wrote: “As you stand on the threshold of an extraordinary opportunity to serve as the next Chairperson of the African Union, I extend my heartfelt goodwill and best wishes for your journey ahead. Africa has long looked to visionary leaders like you to help guide it towards a future that is prosperous, united, and at peace."
While citing Odinga's track record as one of the reasons the ODM leader stood a chance of winning the African Union Commission (AUC) elections, Lusaka added in his letter: "Your life’s work, defined by unwavering dedication to the betterment of our continent, has positioned you not only as a leader but as a symbol of hope, resilience, and transformative change."
Despite the message being well-intentioned, it attracted a wave of criticism towards the governor, particularly because such an advert costs roughly KSh 300,000 to run in a local daily.
The Secretary-General of the Consumers Federation of Kenya, Stephen Mutoro, was particularly critical of the governor, accusing him of misusing funds that, he claimed, could have been allocated to more worthwhile projects.
“This is primitive, backward, and a blatant waste of public funds. You could have simply placed a call to Raila Odinga. Remember, the cost of this unnecessary advert could have been used to fuel the West Kenya tractors to repair our impassable Murram roads,” Mutoro stated on X, formerly Twitter.
Interestingly, this is not the first time a governor has come under scrutiny for using a local daily to print an exorbitantly priced message.
Following his presidential victory in 2022, President William Ruto was forced to issue a warning to county heads against sending him congratulatory messages through newspapers.
Through the Devolution Ministry, the government termed the adverts run in daily newspapers as an extravagant expenditure of public resources.
Governors were subsequently warned that such acts, which are seen as misuse of public funds, were a violation of the Public Financial Management Act (2012) and would likely lead to financial constraints within the county.
Kenyans.co.ke has since established that the average cost of running an advert in a newspaper ranges between Ksh500,000 to Ksh1 million for full-page coloured ads. These rates are subject to the availability of space, and the page number in which the ad appears could affect the final costs.
