Was Kenyan Taxpayer Bankrolling Raila’s Activities At AU?

By: Joseph Mutua Ndonga

Worth Noting:

• To date, the total amount spent exceeds Sh2 billion.
• He added: the Ichung’wa money catered for Raila’s allowances, medical cover and perks as well as paying his staff who worked in his two big offices located in Addis Ababa in Ethiopia,  Ichung’wa the headquarters of AU, and here in Kenya.
• For now, the position of Dr Ruto led Kenya Kwanza government is. This office was not Ichung’wa  adding any value to the cause of the Kenyan people.
• We have therefore stopped making these allocations. There is no budget set aside to bankroll a person to hold anti-Government demonstrations.

A day after the media reported  that the Azimio La Umoja-One Kenya Coalition leader Raila Odinga’s contract at the helm of Africa Union (AU) has ended, this  developing story  took a new twist.

This followed ‘revelations’ made by Kikuyu MP and  Majority Leader Kimani Ichungwah that the government of Kenya was bankrolling the role of former Prime Minister’s as the Africa Union (AU) High Representative for Infrastructure Development. Ichungwah is key ally of President Ruto.

It is worth to recall Raila landed this job soon after he ceded his hardline stance on the outcome of 2017 presidential elections and agreed to sign a ‘ceasefire’ with his main political rival, President Uhuru Kenyatta.

Then, many believed this  was one of the irreducible demands that Raila had placed on the table. Uhuru  had no option but to agree to talk with leadership of AU and ensure he gets that job.

According to Ichungwah, the development added a new burden on the shoulders of Kenyan taxpayers.

He said the National Treasury  started allocating  Sh600 million annually to  fund the Raila’s role at AU.

To date, the total amount spent exceeds Sh2 billion.

He added: the  money catered for Raila’s allowances, medical cover and perks as well as paying his staff who worked in his two big offices located in Addis Ababa in Ethiopia,  the headquarters of AU, and here in Kenya.

For now, the position of Dr Ruto led Kenya Kwanza government is. This office was not  adding any value to the  cause of the Kenyan people.

We have therefore stopped making these allocations. There is no budget set aside to bankroll a person to hold anti-Government demonstrations.

He however said the government has approved funds that will run up to June this year.

He spoke hours after Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua remarked. Now see, this Mzee (old man) has lost a good job at AU. This is simply because he chooses to bite the finger that feeds him. Let him now do his maandamano (demonstrations).

Reacting to this, Odinga’s  office, in a statement, dismissed the claims as farfetched, false and made in bad faith.

No single cent of Kenyan tax payer has ever been allocated to bankroll his job at AU.

The AU secretariat was releasing all the funds meant to facilitate his work and pay his allowances.

He only had one office in Addis Ababa  and staff there were also paid from the coffers.

We have heard Ichungwah claiming he had another office here in Nairobi. Let him show us where it is located and prove it is being run by Kenyan taxpayer.

As this debate rages, it is indeed an eye-opener.

The Kenya government is a signatory to International Organisations Subscription Fund.

This means that it was paying Sh4.9 billion in a year in subscriptions. For now,  the matter has been politicized. The public opinion is  divided.

If you listen to the version of a section of Kenya Kwanza supporters, they aver. Ichungwah was the chairman of parliamentary budget committee when the ‘handshake’ was unveiled. So he knows what he was saying. He had the facts.

Odinga’s supporters, however, counter this. The majority leader is known to be fierce critic of Raila.

So, this is calculated to plot portray him as a ‘greedy’ and a ‘pretender’ who have no interests of the people at heart.

Let us however call a spade, spade. Raila has a history of using the masses to achieve his personal and self-centered  interests. He used this game in 2007 and 2017.

Joseph Mutua Ndonga is a writer and political analyst based in Nairobi