Omtatah to bar politicians from accessing public money if elected president
Busia Senator Okiya Omtatah has promised to bar politicians from accessing public funds should he succeed President William Ruto in the 2027 General Election.
The senator, who expressed his presidential ambitions in the upcoming elections, explained that his administration would strictly be based on the budget to avoid heavy borrowing from domestic and global financial institutions.
He castigated political leaders for making ‘big’ promises when touring the country without adhering to the budget estimates.
“A president should not walk into a project and dictate Ksh200 million to be poured here, is it in the budget? The budget must be restored as the primary tool of governance in the country,” he told Spice FM.
To effect this, Senator Omtatah noted that the Treasury should be established as an independent institution and be run by experts and not politicians.
He said that the Minister for Finance would only be tasked to make policies and not deal with public funds.
“Treasury has to be established as an independent institution. It needs to be established like the Central Bank of Kenya, run by experts and politicians have no access to public money,” Omtatah noted.
“We should separate the Treasury from the Minister of Finance. The treasurer boss should be autonomous.”
While expressing his interest to vie in 2027, Omtatah formed a 10-member committee to assess his candidacy. The Committee, according to the senator, would be required to provide a report within 18 months.
“The committee is mainly made up of volunteers. I’ve got the capacity to do(fund their activities) from my small businesses here and there. They have been given 18 months but they can report earlier,” he remarked.
During the interview, he outlined key agendas in his presidential campaign which include enforcing the rule of law, enhancing fiscal discipline, industrialization and food security, health and education.
He also noted that those involved in graft would be required to surrender the funds should his presidential ambitions come to reality.
Omtatah, however, rejected the term ‘messiah’ and noted that his bid is driven by the desire to see Kenyans receive quality services.
“My desire is to be a good citizen and a good citizen requires good service. My drive is to see that this country provides service that the citizens of Kenya deserve,” he said.
At the moment the truth is that not only Kenyans but the whole world knows that President William Ruto is in total chaos.
Everything in his government is falling apart around him and now the Ruto team don’t know whether to fight the religious groups in churches or try to buy the church leaders even when major church groups in the country very loudly say they are are not on sale for William Ruto. It is a painful moment for the Ruto regime.
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Senior government officials made substantial donations during a fundraiser at Kitalaposho AIC Church in West Pokot County, with President William Ruto’s allies Farouk Kibet and National Assembly Majority Leader Kimani Ichung’wah presenting contributions totaling Sh5 million.
In fact, after Farouk and Ichung’wah gave Sh. 5 million to the church in West Pokot they were yelling at the other churches who don’t want government money to give them back all the money they have received and they will take it to the churches which like them.
The truth is somebody like Farouk Kibet has been Ruto’s right hand man for decades and his main job was to eliminate all the witnesses and families of those killed in 2007/8 massacres and make sure none of the witnesses against Ruto was available to go to the ICC.
Inevitably the ICC case against William Ruto was dismissed because practically all witnesses were dead. That is an easy job for someone like Farouk Kibet but putting a person like that as your right hand man as the president of Kenya is part of the reason Ruto is in a disaster zone.
Kalonzo is reportedly strategizing to build a new coalition in preparation for a potential 2027 presidential run, aiming to consolidate support from diverse political factions. A Kalonzo Musyoka running for the presidency with some puppet given to him by Gachagua is a dead ticket everywhere in Kenya.
The last thing Kenyans would want to deal with is Kalonzo sitting on Gachagua’s laps to tell him how to govern the country. So let them go ahead. Enough is Enough is Enough. That is what Kenyans will tell them in 2027 General Elections.
There are two ways that make Okiya Omtatah presidency very viable in 2027. One obvious thing is that the whole country is sick of William Ruto and his government. In two years Kenyans have seen a regime like none they have every seen before.
Right now, for the first time Kenyans have a complete dictator as their president, forget the Moi days because at least at that time Kenya had a parliament and also ministers who could look after them and sort things out with the president.
Today all MPs, Senators and CSs have to kneel down when they meet President and shut up with their job being to listen to what Ruto wants done. Amin Dada tried that method of governance in Uganda and it did not work very well for him.
Omtatah maybe the first candidate ever for the Kenyan presidency where tribe does not matter at all thanks to the William Ruto mess. Omtatah could get votes from every part of the country of a tired nation that is desperate for new leadership with a completely new vision for the country. That could pull a lot of voters to him because Kenyans not only do not want William Ruto as their president but they also do not want another Ruto duplicate at State House.
One great and surprising thing Omtatah has done is to set up a committee of ten people from different communities and playing all sorts of roles in Kenya.
That committee consists of Mary Kathomi Riungu (Chairperson), Charles Ole Kabaiku (Deputy Chairperson), David John Bwakali, Victor Kipngetich (lawyer for team), Hanifa Adan (Public Relations Strategist), Jude Ogulla, Purity Ndambuki and Julius Onkara.
That is a very diversified group and Kenyans will see the report and respond to it.
I was particularly impressed that Omtatah chose one of the very brave patriotic voices during the Gen Z rebellion who actually put a lot of effort to help the families of those killed by the Kenya police during the demos. I am talking about Hanifa Adan in the Omtatah team.
These are the brave Kenyans who just don’t talk about human rights but actually commit themselves in every way possible way to do something about the murders and support the victims of Ruto state violence against the citizens of the republic.
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All these brings a second wave of why Okiya Omtatah could win the whole thing. Whether President Ruto likes it or not he is going to open voter registration most likely by the middle of 2025.
When voter registration is started whenever that happens Omtatah should go everywhere in Kenya and ask the Gen Z voters to go and register to vote and then determine the next president of Kenya, the MPs and governors.
They are going to come up in numbers never seen in the history of the nation. Those will be Omtatah’s votes and there is nothing William Ruto can do about that.
Then there is the issue of femicide in Kenya which is exploding and just getting Kenyan women and girls terrified. Now some of Ruto’s allies like Mudavadi are talking about these terrible crimes of murder and violence against Kenyan women. Where have they been all this time?
Let’s face the fact that Kenyan women are going to play a huge role in electing the next president. Kenyans are just sick of the madness that everyday there is a Kenyan woman stabbed 18 times, shot dead or dumbed somewhere dead and buried.
This has to be stopped and you need a principled and disciplined government to let the criminals know that their days are numbered. Kenyan women are very active in fighting for their country and for their sisters and kids. They are going to be a big part of the vote in 2027
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The demonstration was the largest-event ever against sexual and gender-based violence in the country.
Adongo Ogony is a Human Rights Activist and a Writer who lives in Toronto, Canada
