Former Chief Justice Willy Mutunga on Monday ruffled feathers during his first address after being unveiled as the new Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) tax ambassador.
Mutunga called for an independent public inquiry into the Ksh5 Trillion national debt since independence.
"We need a commission of public inquiry into public debt since independence," he justifying his sentiment by adding that the inquiry would help examine how the debt had been utilized by the State.
This, he argued would encourage transparency in the utilization of public funds noting that the inquiry would help clear lingering questions on how the money in the public coffers was being used.
“The questions may never go away if we don’t address this,” he appealed.
The treasury CS Henry Rotich was immediately opposed to the comments conveying that the records were already in the public domain.
Further dismissing Mutunga's suggestion, the CS defended the government's track record stating that it had exercised transparency in running its affairs.
“All the public information is available, the government has been transparent,” CS Rotich stated in a swift rejoinder.
Kenya's debt currently stands at Ksh5.04 trillion in June 2018, up from Ksh1.89 trillion in June 2013.
At the same time, Treasury projections show that President Uhuru Kenyatta is expected to accumulate nearly Sh2.13 trillion more in public debt by the time his final term ends in August 2022.
