Revealed: Cost of Ruto church events as state preaches austerity

Details have emerged of the expenses taxpayers foot for President William Ruto’s whirlwind tours, including church events and private functions.

Documents tabled in Parliament show the cost of a public address system, tents and carpet in a single interdenominational prayer service ranges between Sh4 million and Sh15 million.

For 16 church events alone that the President has attended,  the government has incurred a bill of Sh118 million.

This is for basic services only, such as hiring a public address system, tents and seats.

The totals are likely to be higher, considering the undisclosed ancillary costs such as security detail, transport and protocol services.

The documents reveal that in some instances, even private functions with no clear government purpose are bankrolled with taxpayers’ money.

For instance, the government incurred a bill of over Sh27 million for supplies for the Great Chepsaita Cross-Country 2024 edition that was held in Uasin Gishu.

Various suppliers of tents, red carpet, helicopter charters, high-end public address systems, and conferencing services are collectively owed Sh626 million.

Homeland Events, which is owed the highest amount, charges as high as Sh30 million for an event, with the smaller receptions costing Sh350,000 on the lower side.

The government also owes Chairmania Events Limited, which charges from Sh200,000 to Sh5 million, while HomeBoyz Entertainment is owed between Sh3.6 million and Sh18 million.

Bowman Aviation Limited is also owed colossal amounts for chopper charters, so is Pro Flight Ltd.

Attic Tours, Greenbay Travel, Flight Centre Travel, Trawell Company, and Villagio Travel are owed varied amounts for flight bookings.

There are also conferencing service suppliers such as Weston, Lake Naivasha Resort, KICC, and Sarova hotels which are yet to be paid.

Take for instance an interdenominational church service at AIPCA Ndongino Church in Nyandarua. The government incurred a bill of at least Sh7.2 million for tents, seats and decor.

A church service in Chebango, Bomet county, set back taxpayers Sh5.3 million while another in Kilgoris cost Sh5.9 million for the tents, seats, and public address system.

Another Sh10 million was spent on a prayer service at Baricho Catholic Church in Kirinyaga.

A service at an AIPCA church in Nyeri county cost taxpayers Sh13.5 million, Sh5 million for a service in Moiben, and Sh8.8 million for another in Kericho.

A service at Kimana Primary School in Kajiado cost taxpayers Sh9.7 million, while that held at Kakamega’s Chebuyusi High School cost Sh5.2 million.

One supplier is seeking Sh9.9 million for a service in Elgeyo Marakwet county and Sh1.7 million for a similar event at the United Pentecostal Church.

The same supplier is yet to be paid Sh10.2 million for the setup at the Cheptais service and Sh9.4 million for the event at Global Cathedral Church in Nairobi.

Since assuming office, President Ruto has been attending church events in most parts of the country.

As per the budget pleadings before MPs, the spending extends beyond religious functions, sharply contrasting with the government’s preaching of austerity.

Some Sh18 million is owed to a supplier for last year’s Jamhuri Day celebrations.

Millions more are spent on high-profile funerals the President attends. For instance, a bill of Sh8.8 million was incurred during the funeral of former IEBC chairman Wafula Chebukati.

Another Sh7.4 million was used at the burial of Baringo Senator William Cheptumo.

A separate Sh32 million claim involving tents, decor, and state-of-the art public address system was spent during Cheptumo’s burial ceremony.

Some Sh44.7 million that covered Malava MP Malulu Injendi’s funeral, Sh19.8 million for the burial of National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang’ula’s mother, and Sh19.4 million for Cheptumo’s burial are yet to be paid.

Taxpayers further forked out Sh12.6 million to cater to Ken Lusaka’s mother’s burial ceremony.

The documents shows that Kenyans pay up to Sh8 million for floral and decor arrangements for state functions, as cited in last year’s Jamhuri Day celebrations.

The seemingly simple act of rolling out a red carpet for presidential appearances costs taxpayers in the range of Sh500,000 to Sh1 million per event.

The Interior ministry is also yet to pay Sh5.4 million for tents and public address system used during Deputy President Kithure Kindiki’s swearing-in.

Holding rooms used by guests of the state for national holiday functions also cost an average of Sh5 million, as exhibited in the Mashujaa Day celebrations hosted in Kwale county.

The unpaid millions of shillings also cover private chopper hires for local tours by the President and officers accompanying him to the events.

The bills also concern expenditures on VIP protocols and premium travel for presidential delegations as well as branding during national celebrations.

Multiple contractors who provide services for government agencies have been lamenting how they struggle to stay afloat as a result of delayed payments.

Even so, the revelations contrast with the harsh budget cuts affecting education, healthcare, and infrastructure in cost-saving measures by the exchequer.

Some of the pending bills cover non-essential expenditures, which the President himself ordered reduced after the Gen Z protests last year.

MPs are considering a request for additional funding to support presidential functions and local visits.

Since the year began, the President has toured various regions, trips that have seen him inspect, commission, and launch projects, the same culminating in a church service in the respective regions. Each of the stops has a cost to taxpayers.

Interior PS Raymond Omollo lamented a budget deficit of Sh27 billion, citing a Sh760 million shortfall for local presidential visits.

While the ministry sought Sh1.4 billion to facilitate national functions, citing prevailing expenditure trends, only Sh638 million has been allocated.

When he appeared before MPs, the PS pleaded for more funds to cater for the pending bills and others anticipated in the year.

“We will prioritise the pending bills at the beginning of the financial year starting July 1,” Omollo said.

 During the deliberations, it emerged that critical security operations remain underfunded.

Top on the list is the more than 4,400 gazetted administrative units, which need about Sh3.5 billion but have been allocated a paltry Sh500 million.

This means the units may not offer crucial services such as IDs, births and deaths registration among other core state services.

The three national holidays are also not funded to the tune of Sh247 million, while security operations lack Sh5.2 billion.

Village elders may also have to wait longer for the stipend President Ruto promised as there is no allocation in the July 1 budget. At least Sh2.5 billion is required to pay 106,000 elders Sh2,000 each.

The National Assembly Security Committee was further briefed of unpaid legal claims of Sh864 million, Sh59 million in electricity bills, and Sh286 million in respect of Kenya Coast Guard for boat building and repairs by Kenya Shipyards Limited.

“The state department requests additional funding to cater for the anticipated pending bills in the ensuing financial year,” Omollo said.

The cuts have also affected police modernisation projects - that is, for the purchase of kits, transport equipment, and weaponry.

So bad is the situation that out of 60 projects, some of which have stalled for years, only 24 have been catered for in the estimates under consideration.

No new projects have been earmarked for rollout in the next financial year, PS Omollo said, even as some MPs demanded more details on the budgets.

"The presentation is okay but lacks details, leaving us wondering what the agencies are hiding," Saku MP Dido Raso said.

State House was yet to respond to our inquiries on the revelations by press time.