Government Responds to Uhuru Kenyatta's Claims on Denied Retirement Benefits

The administration of President William Ruto has addressed the allegations made by former President Uhuru Kenyatta regarding the status of his retirement benefits. In a statement released on Monday afternoon, Kenyatta’s spokesperson, Kanze Dena, claimed that his office has not received the rightful budgetary allocations, forcing the former president to cover expenses that should be handled by the state.

In response, government spokesperson Isaac Mwaura issued a statement asserting that Kenyatta’s office has been adequately supported. According to Mwaura, Kenyatta’s office has been provided with 14 vehicles, all of which are fuelled and maintained by State House.

“They also alleged falsely that their fuel cards have been blocked. We, however, put it on record that the vehicles are fuelled through the State House Master Card. Our records show that several vehicles were fuelled as recently as May 15, 2024,” said Mwaura.

Mwaura further clarified that the vehicles in question are relatively new, having been purchased between 2020 and 2022. He emphasized that these vehicles are befitting for a retired president.

Contrary to these assertions, Kenyatta’s office has stated that it was allocated older vehicles, including two Toyota Land Cruisers, a Mercedes Benz, and a Range Rover used by former First Lady Margaret Kenyatta. Dena maintained that these vehicles are not up to the standard stipulated by the Presidential Retirement Benefits Act.

“Four Toyota Prados are in use as follows. Three are in use by the security detail given to the former president and 1 that is in use by the office as well as 1 Subaru Forester,” Dena explained.

She added that Kenyatta has been personally paying for fuel since the government-issued fuel cards were cancelled in March 2023.

Addressing the state of Kenyatta’s office, Mwaura pointed out that the office previously used by the late President Mwai Kibaki in Nairobi’s Nyari estate is a suitable facility for any retired president. He criticized Kenyatta for preferring that the government lease his private home instead, arguing that this would violate procurement laws and present a conflict of interest.

“By rejecting this office and preferring that the government leases his own private home, the third retired president is inviting the government to violate procurement laws, regulations and procedures,” Mwaura stated.

Additionally, Mwaura noted that the names of George Kariuki and Kanze Dena have not been submitted to the State House Controller for processing. He insisted that the government continues to diligently pay the salaries of Kenyatta, his staff, and their allowances, fuel his 14 vehicles, and facilitate all his travels.

“The Act provides that only four foreign trips should be fully paid for and for a maximum of 14 days. As for daily subsistence when on official duty, Public Service Commission and National Treasury regulations apply,” Mwaura added.

Kenyatta’s office had raised concerns over the lack of support for his foreign trips, specifically to Ethiopia for an African Union-led peace process and to Burundi for the 11th summit of the Heads of State and government of the East African Community (EAC).

"In the year 2022/2023 parliament allocated to this office Ksh.655 million. To date the office can only confirm spending of Ksh.28 million spread across the payment of an allowance for domestic travel as well as facilitation of the 2 official trips that have been honoured so far," Dena stated. "This is approximately 4.4 per cent of the total budget. This does not include payment of salaries and medical insurance. No other monies spent can be accounted for by this office."