Why I'm Suing Uhuru & Ruto: Okiya Omtatah
Omtatah claimed that the two were responsible for the ballooning national debt when they were in power together under the Jubilee administration.
Marvin Chege 
Busia County Senator and 2027 presidential aspirant Okiya Omtatah has explained why he is filing a lawsuit against both President William Ruto and his predecessor, Uhuru Kenyatta.
Speaking on Monday, April 7, during an interview on Spice FM, Omtatah claimed that the two were responsible for the ballooning national debt when they were in power together under the Jubilee administration.
According to the vocal senator, the public debt rose by Ksh 9.3 trillion between the Jubilee government and that of the late former President Mwai Kibaki.
The late former president Mwai Kibaki greets William Ruto at State House as Uhuru Kenyatta looks on. /EMBAKASI RELOADED
"Our debt from when Mwai Kibaki left was Ksh 2.7 trillion; right now, we are about Ksh 12 trillion. That spike in borrowing has happened under the Jubilee and Kenya Kwanza governments. That is why you've seen in my petition, I am suing Uhuru Kenyatta for a recovery of about Ksh 4.6 trillion and William Ruto for a recovery of about Ksh 2.3 trillion," he disclosed.
"That is how we come up with Ksh 6.9 trillion that I've been able to press in the Treasury books under their watch and their command outside the law, and it cannot be seen what it has done."
Omtatah further claimed that the country overpaid its debt by Ksh 2.3 trillion, and he could only trace Ksh 6.9 trillion out of the Ksh 13 trillion of what he termed as 'odious' debt.
At the same time, he accused Auditor General Nancy Gathungu of shirking her constitutional responsibility by failing to audit the public debt under President William Ruto’s administration. He argued that her office isn’t properly carrying out its mandate to assess the legality and efficiency of how the government manages public debt.
He highlighted the weight of Kenya’s public debt, saying it’s eating up a huge chunk of the country's tax revenue. “For every Ksh 100 that Kenya earns, Ksh 82 goes towards paying debt, leaving only Ksh 18 for the rest of the national expenditures,” he said.
Omtatah stressed that the Constitution requires the Auditor General to audit public debt and other government financial matters within six months after each fiscal year ends. However, he noted that Gathungu has only reviewed the records from the previous administration so far.
“Article 229, clause 4, paragraph G of the Constitution states that within six months after the end of each financial year, the Auditor General shall audit and report on public debt,” Omtatah said.
“But where is the audit report for the last two years of President Ruto’s administration? Why is it that only the previous administration under former President Uhuru Kenyatta is being audited?”
Omtatah also took issue with the recent special audit by the Auditor General, which examined a decade’s worth of commercial loans and uncovered roughly Ksh1 trillion in unpaid debt. He questioned why the audit didn’t include President Ruto’s administration.
“Why have you left Ruto out of this? This is politics. You cannot audit Uhuru and leave Ruto out when he has been in power for two years,” Omtatah argued.
Busia Senator Okiya Omtatah during a past media address outside the Milimani Law Courts. /KBC DIGITAL
