Ruto Suffers Fresh Court Blow as High Court Declares Public Debt Audit Taskforce Unconstitutional
President William Ruto has suffered another legal setback after the High Court in Nairobi declared unconstitutional the presidential taskforce established to audit Kenya’s public debt and pending bills, ruling that its mandate infringed on the constitutional powers of the Office of the Auditor-General.
In a judgment delivered on Thursday, July 23, Justice Lawrence Mugambi found that the committee created by President Ruto was performing functions that the Constitution exclusively assigns to the Auditor-General.
The ruling stemmed from a petition filed by governance activist Magare Gikenyi alongside other petitioners, who argued that the Executive had unlawfully usurped the constitutional role of an independent office by creating a parallel mechanism to audit public debt.
Justice Mugambi agreed with the petitioners, holding that the auditing of public debt and pending bills is a constitutional responsibility vested solely in the Auditor-General. The court ruled that the President could not establish another body to undertake duties already assigned to an independent constitutional office.
“The mandate conferred upon the taskforce falls within the constitutional functions of the Office of the Auditor-General,” Justice Mugambi ruled, effectively invalidating the committee’s operations.
The petitioners had argued that allowing a presidentially appointed taskforce to audit public debt would undermine the independence of constitutional commissions and blur the separation of powers established under the Constitution.
The decision marks yet another judicial hurdle for President Ruto’s administration, with several executive actions in recent months facing successful constitutional challenges in court.
The ruling is expected to have significant implications for the government’s efforts to scrutinise Kenya’s growing public debt and pending bills, as any such audit must now be undertaken through the constitutionally mandated Office of the Auditor-General.
While the government has maintained that the taskforce was intended to enhance accountability and provide an independent assessment of the country’s debt burden, the court held that constitutional mandates cannot be transferred or duplicated through executive action.
The judgment reinforces the constitutional independence of the Auditor-General, whose office is mandated to audit and report on the management of public finances and safeguard accountability in the use of public resources.
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