The Azimio La Umoja coalition has challenged the government to clamp down on William Ruto’s alleged willful misuse of public funds in his bid for the presidency in 2022.
According to Junet Mohamed, the coalition’s Secretary-General, the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has resorted to sitting on the fence as DP Ruto continues to use state resources both before and after the official campaign period.
The coalition cited several instances in which the DP’s office was accused of misusing public resources, including hosting partisan gatherings at DP Ruto’s official residence in Karen and misusing police officers assigned to the DP’s security detail.
“The Deputy President has, with impunity, continued to host delegations of UDA supporters in the official residence of the Deputy President. These delegations feature persons openly dressed in UDA-branded attire, who are consequently entertained with hospitality services footed by the Kenyan tax payer,” the statement read in part.
According to the statement, hospitality services receive Ksh. 23,967,500 out of a total approved budget of Ksh. 575,963,916 in the Deputy President’s office for the fiscal year 2022/2023.
The Azimio Coalition also accuses Ruto of abusing state-provided vehicles to run his campaigns across the country, including by affixing civilian license plates to them. They also want the promotion of partisan content on the deputy president’s website, which is funded by taxpayers.
The DP has also retained a large number of civil servants who are public officers whose primary responsibility is to campaign for him in both mainstream and social media outlets, discredit other presidential candidates, and spread propaganda and incitement, according to the statement.
