NAIROBI, June 22, 2026 — Busia Senator Okiya Omtatah has threatened to drag the government to court over what he describes as “budgeted corruption” — Ksh101 billion in public funds buried under a vague budget category with no clear purpose or accountability.
Speaking on Monday, Omtatah disclosed that after a thorough review of the 2026/27 national government budget estimates, he found that Ksh101,370,569,266 — over one hundred billion shillings — has been allocated under the catch-all label “Other Operating Expenses,” with no specific vote, programme, or identifiable use attached to the funds.
“I have reviewed the recurrent and development expenditure estimates contained in the proposed National Government Budget for the Financial Year 2026-27 and established that a total of Sh101,370,569,266 remains untied to any specific vote, programme, or identifiable purpose as required by law,” Omtatah stated.
The senator broke down the figure as Ksh26.3 billion in development expenditure and Ksh74.97 billion in recurrent expenditure. He noted the practice is not new — in the 2025/26 budget, a similar allocation amounted to Ksh116.26 billion under the same opaque category.
Omtatah’s core argument is that every identifiable expense — salaries, allowances, rent, hospitality, fuel, vehicle maintenance, and office supplies — has already been allocated within ministerial budgets. The billions ending up under “Other Operating Expenses,” he says, are simply unspent balances from sector ceilings that ministries chose to absorb rather than return.
“Let us say the Ministry of Energy says they want Ksh10, that’s what we had requested. Then the technocrats go and begin itemising under the Ksh10, then they reach Ksh6, and they find that the budget, the ministry is fully catered for. Instead of cutting out the remaining Ksh4, they say the Ksh4 become other operating expenses,” Omtatah explained.
He cited specific examples: State House was allocated Ksh7.3 billion in classified operating expenses, yet a further Ksh3.51 billion appeared separately under “Other Operating Expenses” — equivalent to nearly 48 percent of the classified allocation. The National Treasury showed Ksh13 billion under the same vague line, representing 181 percent of its classified allocation.
Omtatah argued the practice directly violates the Constitution, the Public Finance Management Act, and related regulations, all of which require expenditure to be clearly itemised, justified, and tied to specific programmes.
In a striking comparison, he noted that the Ksh101.37 billion hidden in the 2026/27 budget is actually more than the Ksh98.5 billion the Finance Bill 2026 — passed by the National Assembly on June 18 — is designed to raise from Kenyan taxpayers.
“This reveals a glaring truth: existing taxation rates are already more than sufficient to finance the FY 2026/2027 national budget. There is absolutely no basis for imposing on Kenyans the taxes contained in the recently approved Finance Bill 2026,” he said.
The senator announced he will file a petition in court next week challenging both the budget structure and the Finance Bill 2026.
“I will go to court because the budget does not come to the Senate. I will petition the court to stop the budget and also challenge the 2026 Finance Bill,” he said.
