BOMBSHELL CLAIM: Top lawyer exposes staggering £61M State House spend as healthcare and schools face crippling cuts
CONSTITUTIONAL LAWYER and Safina Party deputy leader Willis Otieno has sparked explosive fury over the government’s spending habits, revealing a staggering multi-billion shilling bill burned on State House political events.
In a damning assessment of the administration’s financial priorities, Mr. Otieno alleged that billions of public funds are being funneled into high-profile political events while essential public services—including healthcare, schools, and basic infrastructure—are left to collapse under the weight of budget cuts.
Writing in an explosive post on X (formerly Twitter) on Thursday, August 5, 2026, the high-profile attorney calculated that hosting 10,000 guests twice weekly at State House over a single year accumulates a staggering Ksh10.4 billion (£61 million) in cash facilitation alone.
Crucially, Mr. Otieno warned that this eye-watering figure represents only a fraction of the true cost to the taxpayer.
“If State House hosts 10,000 people twice a week for one year, the cash facilitation alone would cost an estimated Ksh10.4 billion. That’s before catering, transport, security, tents, logistics, and other event expenses are added,” Mr. Otieno declared.
“And that’s only the State House, not the countless ’empowerment’ events staged across the country.”
‘More than entire county budgets’
The constitutional lawyer pointed out that the estimated Ksh10.4B spend comfortably exceeds the entire annual equitable revenue share allocated to several individual counties—money that could otherwise transform local public services.
Outlining a damning alternative for the funds, Mr. Otieno insisted the money could immediately build modern schools, fully equip struggling hospitals, drill critical boreholes for drought-stricken communities, back local farmers, wipe out government arrears, and fully finance university educations for tens of thousands of desperate students.
“Every time you’re told there is ‘no money’ for doctors, teachers, university funding, cancer drugs, or paying pending bills, remember this,” he warned.
Public fury over ‘unlimited political budgets’
The dramatic intervention comes amid rising anger over the cost of living, with ordinary citizens repeatedly instructed by officials to accept austerity measures and tighten their belts while political rallies and state receptions continue unabated.
“Yet the public is constantly told to tighten its belt while political spectacle appears to have an unlimited budget,” Mr. Otieno stated.
“This is why so many Kenyans ask: if there is always money for politics, why is there never enough for the services that actually improve people’s lives?
“A country’s priorities are revealed by where it spends its money. Citizens have every right and every responsibility to question whether public resources are being used in the public interest.”
The explosive claims come as pressure mounts on government expenditure, with opposition figures demanding an immediate freeze on non-essential state entertainment and a full audit of public mobilisation funds.
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