Civic group petitions Senate over 'runaway graft'
Prof Fred Ogolla condemned government borrowing for consumption and prestige projects, which increase debt servicing costs and leave less funding for essential services.
A civic group fighting corruption on Thursday, October 2, presented a petition to the Senate, highlighting its efforts to tackle widespread graft in Kenya.
Led by Professor Fred Ogolla, the lobby first sought an audience with the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) to discuss the body’s role in combating corruption.
More To Read
- Trademark, patent approvals halted at KIPI amid fraud allegations
- MPs block plan to create new sextortion law
- How forged academic papers are helping fraudsters secure top government jobs — EACC
- Court declines to freeze MCSK royalty collections amid Sh56 million row
- Court freezes ex-KNH CEO Evanson Kamuri's assets worth Sh229 million
- Waititu suffers third blow as court declines to vary bond terms in graft case
Prof Ogolla warned that corruption poses a serious threat to Kenya’s economic stability and called for urgent, decisive action.
He pointed out that public debt has soared from hundreds of billions at the turn of the millennium to trillions of shillings today.
“Chronic graft and rising unpaid obligations, or pending bills, have drained resources meant to fund schools, clinics, roads, and security. Unless the corruption-borrowing-arrears trinity is broken, the Ruto era will leave a debt hangover the size of a small country,” he said.
At the Senate, Prof Ogolla criticised corrupt practices such as tender theft, phantom suppliers, and insurance fraud, which he said turn budgeted projects into “ghost towns” with fewer classrooms and poorly maintained clinics.
He added, “Pending bills choke service delivery. When the Treasury is paying old bills, it can't hire teachers or buy vaccines. It’s like feeding yesterday's dentist before you pay for today's schoolbooks.”
Senator Daniel Maanzo received the petition from the civic group led by Prof Fred Ogolla on October 2, 2025. (Photo: Justine Ondieki)
Prof Ogolla further explained that the petition was presented to the Senate rather than the National Assembly over the latter's complicity in policies that have enabled state capture and corruption.
“Parliament has consistently been complicit in the formulation and endorsement of policies that have contributed to the myriad challenges facing our society today. Given this track record, we believe that entrusting Parliament with the review and amendment of these policies is not only misguided but also risks perpetuating the very issues we seek to resolve," he said.
In contrast, he argued that the Senate offers an opportunity for a more transparent and accountable review process that could genuinely address the people’s concerns and bring about meaningful change.
"The petition includes documentation related to corruption, which provides comprehensive information on how to implement the recommended actions, as well as the rationale behind these recommendations," said Prof Ogolla.
The petition highlights unprecedented levels of graft Kenya has experienced since independence, noting corruption has persisted across successive regimes, severely hampering the economy.
"Since we believe that pending bills are also corruption since the goods and services were budgeted for, we find that Jomo Kenyatta, Daniel Arap Moi and Mwai Kibaki left no pending bills. Uhuru Kenyatta left Sh663 billion in pending bills in 10 years," it noted.
The civic group calls on the National Assembly to establish independent asset recovery tribunals and to create an Independent National Commission for Job Placement.
"Develop a policy that enables government jobs to be on contract, renewable every 6 years, based on performance appraisal. And various other measures to help eliminate corruption."
Top Stories Today
