Omtatah Launches Fresh Senate Attack on Ruto Over Debt, Taxes and Fiscal Record

By Evans Mutinda

Busia Senator Okiya Omtatah has launched a fresh broadside against President William Ruto’s administration, accusing the Kenya Kwanza Government of worsening the country’s debt burden, overtaxing Kenyans, undermining devolution and repeatedly changing policy direction under public pressure.
Omtatah said Kenya cannot tax, borrow and spend its way out of the fiscal crisis, accusing the administration of presenting policy retreats as achievements while failing to address what he termed structural weaknesses in public finance.
“The Constitution does not require a senator to clap while the Executive rides failure as delivery,” Omtatah said,On Friday 11th September 2026 in Nairobi,insisting that holding Government to account should not be treated as sabotage.

The Busia senator challenged President Ruto to come clean on Kenya’s actual debt position, including borrowing through various instruments and transactions.
Omtatah alleged that the Government had borrowed about Sh5.8 trillion since taking office, with between Sh4.8 trillion and Sh4.9 trillion allegedly borrowed without prior parliamentary approval.

He claimed Parliament had approved only about Sh1 trillion in borrowing for the current year, yet the Government had accumulated additional debt running into trillions of shillings.
“You cannot stand there and cheat Kenyans that you have lowered Kenya’s debt. You have made it worse,” Omtatah said.

He acknowledged that the previous administration under former President Uhuru Kenyatta also contributed to Kenya’s debt burden through commercial borrowing, but argued that this could not absolve the current administration of responsibility for its own fiscal decisions.

According to Omtatah, Kenya’s central problem is not simply inadequate taxation but the manner in which public resources are allocated, coupled with high debt-service costs, administrative expenditure and what he described as politically convenient programmes taking precedence over productive investment.

‘Government U-turns under pressure’

Omtatah accused the Kenya Kwanza administration of repeatedly changing course whenever policies faced public opposition.
“When the script rejects results, the Government does not correct course on principle. It U-turns under pressure and calls the retreat listening,” he said.
“That is not transformation. It is improvisation with other people’s lives.”
The senator also pointed to Kenya’s economic growth performance, noting that the economy expanded by 4.6 per cent in 2025, compared with 4.7 per cent in 2024, and argued that the figures warranted greater scrutiny of the Government’s economic strategy.

He raised concerns over challenges surrounding the Competency-Based Curriculum, including reported losses and examination-related issues, as well as complaints by Early Childhood Development Education officers over promotions, salaries and pensions.

Omtatah also questioned aspects of the Government’s handling of health and disaster preparedness, citing alerts relating to imports, polio risks in Dadaab and regional Ebola preparedness.

He criticised what he described as an excessive focus on the looming El Niño rains, arguing that the Government should move beyond warnings and develop measures to manage and benefit from increased water availability.
“All you hear is El Niño. They talk about it and they are planning that El Niño instead of preparing the country to manage and benefit from the excess water that we are going to receive,” Omtatah said.

Devolution under pressure

Omtatah accused the national Government of undermining devolution by failing to release funds to counties on time and in a predictable manner.
He said delayed disbursements were making it difficult for county governments to plan, operate hospitals, pay suppliers, employ health workers, maintain roads and provide water and other devolved services.
“A constitutional formula is not a suggestion. The division of functions is not optional,” he said.

Omtatah called for stronger protection of county governments as a central pillar of Kenya’s constitutional order, warning against expansion of national programmes and payrolls at the expense of devolved functions.
He also rejected the Government’s tendency to attribute Kenya’s economic difficulties to external factors.
While acknowledging the impact of global economic conditions, oil prices, lenders, geopolitics, climate and market forces, Omtatah said such factors could not excuse decisions within the Government’s control, including tax design, borrowing schedules, regulation and manifesto commitments.

‘Come clean on the numbers’

Omtatah invoked constitutional safeguards on accountability and public finance, citing Articles 10, 201, 223, 227 and 229 in his call for greater transparency and independent oversight of public resources.
He said the Controller of Budget and Auditor-General should be regarded as safeguards rather than obstacles to Government.

Omtatah demanded publication of a comprehensive fiscal position detailing public debt, guarantees, contingent liabilities, debt-service obligations and the effective interest costs of major borrowing instruments.
He also called for disclosure of planned borrowing for the 2026/2027 financial year, including refinancing and liability-management transactions, as well as withdrawals under Article 223 and their justification.
Other demands included publication of pending bills and supplier arrears, tax expenditures, public-private partnership liabilities, county disbursement status and reconciliation of budgeted versus actual expenditure.

The senator further demanded a record of major policies introduced since September 2022 that had subsequently been withdrawn, delayed, reversed or abandoned.

*Production, not more borrowing’

Omtatah cited African Development Bank assessments highlighting constrained fiscal space, high debt-service costs, weak public investment, poor investment efficiency and inadequate project preparation as major constraints to Kenya’s development.
He argued that Kenya could not solve its financing challenges simply by finding more lenders.
“Kenya cannot close that gap by finding new lenders,” he said, calling instead for increased production, greater processing of locally produced goods, expanded exports, lower energy and credit costs, stronger support for small-scale farmers and greater investment in human capital.

Omtatah also called for tougher action against corruption and waste, arguing that the size of the national budget should not be used as the primary measure of transformation.
“The measure of transformation is not the size of the budget. It is the size of the opportunity available to citizens,” he said.
He said Kenyans were not demanding miracles but affordable food, jobs, viable farms, cheaper credit, functioning hospitals, reliable electricity, roads, water and responsible management of public resources.
“The answer cannot always be another tax, another loan, another bond, another emergency, another U-turn or another explanation,” Omtatah said.

“At some point, government must produce results.”

He called for a “fiscal reset” anchored on expenditure discipline, debt transparency, procurement integrity, protection of devolution, independent oversight and predictable regulation.

‘Suspension will not silence me’

Omtatah also linked the fiscal controversy to his suspension from the Senate, insisting that disciplinary action would not silence his scrutiny of public finances.
“I will serve the suspension, but I will not serve the fiction,” he said.
“The Senate can gag a member for three sittings. It cannot gag the Constitution, the Controller of Budget, the Auditor-General or the memory of this country.”

Omtatah concluded with a warning to the Government ahead of the next General Election.
“Kenyans are not confused. The Government is. And an election will not wash a U-turn or a death stroke clean,” he said.