Deputy President William Ruto is on the spot after his office spent a huge part of the Ksh575,963,916 budget on refreshments and catering services.
Azimio La Umoja council member, Junet Mohamed, stated that DP Ruto was intentionally misusing public funds in his presidential campaigns, arguing that the expenditure was in contravention of the constitution.
In his statement, Junet faulted Ruto for spending Ksh46 million on refreshments. According to the Member of Parliament, the DP spent Ksh23,967,500 for the fiscal year 2022/2023 on catering services.
He further stated that the same was replicated for the fiscal year 2021/2022, where a total sum of Ksh23,967,500 out of the Ksh562,409,292 approved budget was spent on hospitality services.
Junet argues that the DP is still a civil servant and that he should not use public resources in his campaigns, further calling on the IEBC to take action against the country's second in command.
"Section 107 of the Elections Act states that a member of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission, or any person designated by the Commission, shall have the power to impound or to order the impounding of any state resources used in an election campaign," Junet's statement read in part.
"The use of state resources confers on the Deputy President undue advantage over his competitors and must be put to a stop immediately.
"The Deputy President has, with impunity, continued to host delegations of UDA supporters in the official residence of the Deputy President," the statement continued.
Junet complained that DP Ruto was also getting the services of civil servants who are public officers to campaign for him in mainstream and social media outlets.
He accused the group of spreading propaganda and incitement. Among those singled out by Junet include DP Ruto's Chief of Staff Davis Chirchir, Director of Communication Emmanuel Talam, Legal Advisor Korir Sing’Oei, Communication Secretaries David Mugonyi and Munyori Buku.
"The active involvement in campaigning by officers who draw their salaries and allowances from the taxpayers and more so to spread hate and vitriol against other candidates is unacceptable and expressly forbidden by section 23 (2) of the Leadership and Integrity Act.
"With such unprecedented impunity, it is almost certain that the entire allocation of close to Ksh150,000,000, constituting both salaries and allowances, is used to pay the Deputy President’s campaign staff and not public officers," Junet stated.
Kenyans.co.ke reached out to Talam who called out the Azimio team over their sentiments. He challenged the coalition to explain why notable Cabinet Secretaries and Principal Secretaries were openly campaigning for their presidential candidate Raila Odinga.
"Ask them who pays for the ministers and public servants who are in their campaigns," Talam stated.
"William Ruto is deputy president until a new holder of the office is elected in August. The constitution is clear on what he is entitled to. It is not for Azimio to decide."
A debate has been raging over the role of CSs and other notable public servants and their involvement in the campaigns.
UDA has openly criticized ministers who have declared their preferred presidential candidate and called on the President to reign in on his Cabinet.
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