Why Uhuru’s office protested delayed release of Sh1.1 billion

A new directive prohibiting Government Ministries, Departments and Agencies from carrying over pending bills related to pay and allowances to the next financial year could be the reason the Office of Retired President Uhuru Kenyatta has come out fighting to demand the release of Sh1.1 billion by the Treasury.

A source close to The Nairobi Law Monthly on Tuesday, June 11, said that the Government had directed all public agencies to pay their outstanding staff emoluments and perks by end of June 30 or else the affected officers would lose the money.

The Government has been racing to reduce pending bills, standing at over Sh6.5 billion, with the verification committee fighting against time to pave the way for payment of authenticated claims, some of which have been delayed for more than three years.

According to Ms Kanze Dena-Mararo, a spokesperson for the Office of the Retired President, the Government has not released funds allocated to retired President Kenyatta in the last two years. This puts Mr Kenyatta, former First Lady Margaret Kenyatta and staff in the two offices at risk of losing their perks if the new directive kicks in on July 1, when the 2024-2025 financial year starts.

Ms Dena-Mararo had accused State House of frustrating attempts by the Office of the Retired President to access the funds.

“In the financial year 2023-2024, that ends in a few weeks, the budget allocation to this office was Sh503 million. The year is ending without the office having any access to this allocation,” Ms Dena-Mararo said in a press address and later in a television interview.

Reacting to the protest, the source told The Nairobi Law Monthly that State and Public officers who are yet to claim — or receive — pending payments, emoluments and allowances risk losing out if they are not paid before the end of June.

“The money might be lost,” the source said, citing a directive from a highly placed State officer, part of whose job is to guide the Government’s human resource policy direction.

• Unfulfilled pledges that haunt Uhuru in retirement

That could mean that the retired President could be among those likely to be affected unless the money owed to his office is released before June 30.

State House is responsible for releasing funds for the Office of the Retired President. That there has been political bad blood between President Ruto and Mr Kenyatta since 2018 — when Mr Kenyatta was President and Dr Ruto his deputy — is public knowledge.

This, as Ms Dena-Mararo implied, could have occasioned the delay in the release of the funds and now a change in Government policy could mean that outstanding funds owed to Mr Kenyatta’s office might have to be forfeited unless the impasse is resolved before end month.

This, if true, could also affect the perks owed to Ms Dena-Mararo and her colleagues, including Mr Kenyatta’s Private Secretary, Mr Kinuthia Mbugua, who at one time served as Nakuru Governor and head of the Administration Police Service.

Mr Mbugua is embroiled in a related tug-of-war with State House Comptroller Katoo ole Metito over the release of official vehicles meant for use by the Office of the Retired President.

He had in May, 2023, written to State House requesting that the vehicles be bought since the budget for their purchase had been approved by Parliament. According to Ms Dena-Mararo, the request was yet to be honoured.

Also in contention is the question of whether Mr Kenyatta was at liberty to use the premises to use as his official office, as provided for in law, or whether he was to be allocated space by the Government.

Whereas the Government has allocated him the office formerly used by the then retired president Mwai Kibaki, Mr Kenyatta has insisted on being allowed to choose the office to operate from, preferring to operate from his private residence neighbouring State House.

However, Government officials have said they cannot pay rent for a private residence and have insisted that he take up the office space in Nairobi’s leafy suburb of Nyari.

The matter remains unresolved.

On Tuesday, State House Spokesman Hussein Mohamed said on X that President Ruto had reached out to Mr Kenyatta to discuss the concerns that his office had raised.

“President Ruto has consequently constituted a team, led by the Head of the Public Service, to immediately address all the issues raised, including the location of the retired President’s office and the attendant staff establishment,” he wrote.