National Assembly debate turns heated as MPs dispute State House and Deputy President's office allocations in Supplementary Estimates II.
The National Assembly was engaged in a heated debate over Supplementary Estimates II for the 2025/26 financial year, with MPs divided over allocations to State House and the Office of the Deputy President.
During proceedings on Thursday, June 18, the Departmental Committee on Administration and Internal Security, which is responsible for overseeing the funding, defended the allocations, saying they are properly appropriated for government operations.
"It is my committee that appropriates and allocates funds to these offices, and I can confirm to the country and this House that these funds are well spent, justified, and are for the good of the country, not an individual," said Committee Chair and Narok West MP Gabriel Tongoyo.
Omondi Questions "Unexplained Expenditure"
The defence was prompted by Suba South MP Caroli Omondi's questioning of the allocations, citing what he termed as unexplained expenditure across the offices.
"We have before us a supplementary budget concentrating resources in the Office of the Deputy President for what they call operations, and in State House for what they again call operations. The Department of Internal Security for what they call general administration and National Intelligence Service for what they don't even describe what it is for," he said.
Omondi alleged that the funds are used for activities linked to political campaigning, citing a lack of transparency on their intended use, remarks that sparked uproar in the House as other MPs demanded he substantiate the claims.
"We know why this money is being allocated to these particular offices, it is to provide resources for political campaigns. It is confidential expenditure that nobody can verify," he stated.
Omondi pointed to the breakdown of the supplementary estimates, which includes Sh1 billion for State House, Sh200 million for the Deputy President's office, and Sh3.5 billion for the National Intelligence Service.
Budget Approved Despite the Friction
The heated discussion comes amid ongoing scrutiny of government use of public resources across executive offices. Despite the disagreements, the National Assembly has approved the Supplementary Estimates II for 2025/26, increasing the national budget by Sh18.24 billion less than two weeks before the close of the financial year, to cover operations and maintenance shortfalls, security requirements, revised Appropriations-in-Aid, and development partner-funded programmes.