After claims that the Office of the Government Spokesperson was to get a budget of Ksh36 billion, Spokesperson Isaac Mwaura has responded, denying the assertions.
While speaking to members of the press, Mwaura clarified the assertions made by a representative of a non-profit organisation centred on promoting accountability, earlier during the week on Spice FM.
Even though the claims were erroneously made, with the NGO later clarifying that it was indeed Ksh38 million, Mwaura took offence to the claims, terming them “misleading and inaccurate.”
“There are people out here who are intent on peddling falsehoods and information. How do you go to national radio and claim my office has a budget of Ksh36 billion. That is a lie,” Mwaura stated.
“The budget of my office does not even reach one hundred million. But because you are posturing for donors, and you want to be sensational, you go out and spread misinformation,” he added.
In the clip, the NGO stated that in the current financial year, the Spokesperson’s Office, which is domiciled under the Office of the President, had a budget of Ksh19 billion. The NGO’s representative later went on to state that in the upcoming financial year, Mwaura’s office would get Ksh36 billion.
Mwaura further hit out at Standard Group, which houses Spice FM, criticising them for not giving him a right of reply after the representative’s comments.
He also cited the current situation as the country gears up for the 2025 Finance Bill and upcoming budget reading, intimating that the government would clamp down on perpetrators of misinformation.
“This time, we are very alert and we will not allow our country to go down last year’s route. Anyone who is found trying to incite Kenyans and misinform them, the government will take action,” he added.
He termed the act of trying to peddle falsehoods to incite Kenyans to create chaos and hoodwink foreign donors as “unpatriotic.”
Mwaura urged Kenyans to go down the legal route and submit their views on the upcoming Finance Bill, citing the current public participation exercise that is happening nationwide.
Recently, the government was on the spot over the arrest of software developer Rose Njeri, who created a website which Kenyans could use to provide their views on the 2025 Finance Bill.
