Nairobi — Strains between President William Ruto and his predecessor Uhuru Kenyatta have resurfaced, with tensions heightening over office benefits and allowances.
Kenyatta's office revealed Monday that the former president has never received the full budget allocation as required by law, forcing him to fund ongoing challenges, forcing him to finance essentials like office space among others.
Despite an allocation of Sh655 million, Kenyatta's office said only Sh28 million was released this fiscal year, raising concerns about budget disbursement to the former president.
His Director of Communication Kanze Dena expressed dismay, citing a lack of access to funds totaling approximately Sh1 billion over two years.
Ruto was Kenyatta's deputy for 10 years. In the last five years of their tenure, Ruto often accused Kenyatta of sidelining him and setting up junior officers to frustrate him, including withholding budget allocations to his office as Deputy President.
In the current financial year, Kenyatta's office was allocated Sh503 million, yet they haven't received any access to the allocation.
"The year is ending without the office having any access to this allocation. The total amount for the two years that we have not had access to is approximately 1 billion Kenya Shillings," said Dena, days after Government Spokesman Isaac Mwaura insisted that the government was taking care of the former president and his family as required by law.
With an allocation of Sh579 million for the upcoming fiscal year, uncertainties loom over whether the office will receive the promised funds, given past precedents.
"The office is waiting with bated breath to see if this will be honored. The quagmire that the office is in is that the office cannot substantiate what has been used and where the monies have been," Dena stated.
Efforts to establish a suitable office for the former President have stalled, with Dena revealing that Kenyatta personally furnished an office at Uhuru Kenyatta Institute.
"A formal letter was written to statehouse requesting valuation of the office that was identified by President Kenyatta. The office did not receive a response on the issue. Instead, we received communication via text message by then in-charge of the Retired Presidents Office John Makumi," she said.
Dena pointed out that the former president moved to identify and furnish his own office situated at Uhuru Kenyatta Institute from his own pockets.
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The Former Statehouse spokesperson highlighted the stalled discussions on purchasing vehicles as required by the Presidential Retirement Benefits Act, despite prior identification and specifications being agreed upon.
The office would like this to go on record that after transition a conversation on the purchase of vehicles as required by commenced between the two offices. Identification of the vehicles was done, down to the color of the said vehicle, but the conversation froze. To date no discussions," she stated.
Additionally, only two international trips have been honored for the former Head of State, raising questions about his involvement in regional and international roles.
The two include the trip to Ethiopia on matters relating to the African Union-led peace process and the one to Burundi, which was the 11th Summit of Heads of State and Government of the East African Community, on matters relating to the peace process in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
