Government Spokesman Mwaura denies Sh36bn budget claim, says office gets under Sh100m
Government Spokesperson Isaac Mwaura has dismissed claims that his office will receive Sh36 billion in the 2025/26 financial year, stating that its actual budget is less than Sh100 million and calling the figures false and misleading.
Mwaura was responding to remarks made by Diana Gichengo, Executive Director at The Institute for Social Accountability (TISA), who had questioned the government’s sincerity in calling for austerity measures while allegedly allocating enormous funds to the Office of the President and its related departments.
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“They claim the Office of the President’s budget dropped from about Sh100 billion to Sh5.5 billion, but here’s the trick: it’s been sliced and diced into Office of the President, Deputy President, Office of the Spokesperson and the State Corporation Advisory Committee,” Gichengo said during an interview on Spice FM.
“Last year, the Government Spokesperson, who’s under the Presidency, had a travel and subsistence budget of Sh19.2 billion. This year, they decided the budget is really tight, so the spokesperson needs to travel more. It’s ballooned to Sh36 billion.”
In response, Mwaura dismissed the claims as misleading and inaccurate, stating that his office does not even receive Sh100 million. He accused Gichengo of deliberately spreading falsehoods to gain global sympathy and attract funding from international organisations.
“Diana Gichengo, I have a bone to chew with you. How do you lie to Kenyans that my office gets Sh36 billion? How do you tell Kenyans that the advisors of the president get Sh24 billion? That’s a lie,” Mwaura said.
“The budget of my office is not even Sh100 million, but because you’re posturing for dollars and want to be sensational and that’s why I asked for a right of reply, and they didn’t give me.”
Reckless claims
He went on to caution against the use of misinformation and incitement on social media, warning that the government would not allow the country to descend into chaos due to reckless claims.
“Let’s be careful not to incite Kenyans because we want to create another Finance Bill moment. This time round, we will not allow our country to go down the drain,” Mwaura said.
“Anyone found to incite or disinform Kenyans, the government will not allow. If you have issues, we have public participations, present your views and they will be considered before the floor of the House.”
Mwaura urged Kenyans to use official channels to share their views on the Finance Bill 2025, though the National Assembly’s Finance Committee had closed public participation on May 27, 2025.
The public hearings on the Finance Bill 2025 and the Virtual Asset Service Providers Bill 2025 across various counties also concluded, paving the way for debates and possible amendments in the National Assembly.
Citizens’ views
The exercise began on Saturday, May 31, 2025, with the Departmental Committee on Finance and National Planning actively collecting public input on these critical proposed legislations. The process wrapped up on Friday, June 6, 2025, after residents from Kwale, Mombasa, and Kilifi counties shared their views.
Benjamin Langat, the committee’s vice chair, emphasised the importance of public participation, drawing lessons from the fate of the 2024 Finance Bill. He assured that citizens’ views would be fully considered in the final report presented to Parliament.
“This is not an exercise in futility. It’s a very important exercise. This finance bill is a proposal to the National Assembly, and it has to undergo the necessary legislative process, including public participation, to become law,” Langat said.
To avoid repeating past mistakes, Langat urged the public to view the Finance Bill not in isolation but alongside the proposed budget estimates.
“I want to implore the public to desist from looking at the Finance Bill in isolation. When you tell us to employ JSS teachers or even more nurses, the money to cater for that must come from somewhere. This bill is the instrument we use to raise such funds,” he said.
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