A fresh Sh18 billion supplementary budget approved by Parliament barely two weeks before the close of the financial year has triggered a fierce political and accountability storm.
Critics are questioning why billions of shillings are being directed to State House and security agencies while key sectors such as health and education continue to grapple with funding shortfalls.
This is the second supplementary budget the Executive is taking to Parliament, apart from the original budget approved by the National Assembly.
At the core of the controversy are allocations of Sh1 billion to State House for other operating expenses and Sh3.5 billion to the National Intelligence Service (NIS) for security operations.
The State Department for Internal Security has been allocated an additional Sh1.55 billion.
The additional allocations were included in the Supplementary Appropriations Bill (No. 2), 2026, which sought to provide extra resources to several government agencies before the end of the financial year.
Other beneficiaries include the Sports department, which received Sh4.1 billion for Talanta Stadium and the Water department which got Sh2.3 billion for Mwache Dam payments.
The Education department was allocated Sh1.5 billion for examination invigilation fees, while the Broadcasting department received Sh150 million for facilitation of the 2026 World Cup broadcasting rights.
The government also allocated Sh5.7 billion for the NYOTA programme, spread between the State Department for MSMEs and the State Department for Youth Affairs.
But while government insists the allocations are necessary to plug budget gaps, opponents see a different picture.
They read a trend of poor planning, excessive reliance on supplementary budgets and growing expenditure under votes that attract limited public scrutiny.
The debate played out dramatically both inside and outside Parliament.
Suba South MP Caroli Omondi was among the sharpest critics. “What we are witnessing is a long list of examples of poor planning in this administration, a government that is very long on promises and short on delivery, marked by impulsive expenditure and limited transparency and accountability."
The legislator questioned the rationale behind the allocations. “We know why this money is being allocated to these particular offices, it is to provide resources for political campaigns. It is confidential expenditure that nobody can verify,” he alleged.
Kajiado North MP Onesmus Ngogoyo also questioned the timing of the allocations, noting that Parliament was being asked to approve billions of shillings just days before the financial year ends.
“It is just two weeks to the end of the financial year,” Ngogoyo said. “When are they going to spend this money, at what point and on what?”
His concerns echoed the argument by critics who contend that it undermines parliamentary oversight by rushing legislators into approving expenditure that cannot be adequately scrutinised.
Outside Parliament, civil society organisations raised similar concerns.
Institute for Social Accountability (TISA) executive director Diana Gichengo accused the government of normalising emergency spending mechanisms that were originally intended for exceptional circumstances.
“They don’t respect the need for planning and due process. They have made it the norm,” Gichengo said.
“Considering that the ministerial expenditure is about Sh2 trillion, the new allocations would push the extra budget high by Sh332 billion, which is more than the 10 per cent allowed in law.”
She argued that the government was increasingly relying on supplementary allocations despite the absence of major emergencies that would justify such expenditure.
“They have overshot the allocations by 10 per cent yet we did not have any major emergencies like Covid-19 or floods, and the drought situation was handled by well-wishers,” she said.
“Kenyans should know that the Sh18 billion has to be borrowed,” Gichengo said, particularly questioning the ever-rising allocations to intelligence agencies.
“For instance, why is NIS budget ever increasing, yet intelligence is not financial. We must call out this appetite for using expensive credit for non-emergencies,” she said.
The fresh supplementary allocations have also become a rallying point for the opposition, with key luminaries reading foul play.
Democracy for Citizens Party leader Rigathi Gachagua attacked the Ruto team, accusing it of diverting public resources through expenditure lines that receive minimal public scrutiny.
“The money is to be drawn in cash through votes disguised as maintenance and operations, other operating expenses and security operations," Gachagua claimed.
He alleged that the money would be used for political purposes. “This is happening when hospitals have no drugs, cancer patients are in deep pain, our students have no capitation, university and college students have no funding.”
Ruto allies, however, dismissed the criticism and defended the allocations as legitimate and necessary.
Budget and Appropriations Committee chairman Samuel Atandi argued that supplementary budgets are inevitable because Parliament rarely provides agencies with the full amounts they request during the budgeting process.
“There is no time we have been able to meet the budget requirements 100 per cent,” Atandi said. “The resource requirement for State House is about Sh25 billion. As at now, State House has a gap of about Sh8 billion, which we are unable to fund.”
He maintained that the additional allocation should not be interpreted as overfunding. “Therefore, this debate about State House being overfunded needs to come to an end,” he said.
Atandi also defended the allocation to NIS. “For example, NIS has a resource gap of Sh30 billion. We must admit that this House will never find resources to fully fund budget requests.” “The budget before us is therefore proper.”
Narok West MP Gabriel Tongoyo, whose committee oversees allocations to some of the affected offices, also sought to reassure the public.
“It is my committee that appropriates and allocates funds to these offices, and I can confirm to the country and this House that these funds are well spent, justified and are for the good of the country, not an individual,” he said.
Majority Leader Kimani Ichung’wah similarly defended the supplementary estimates, arguing that part of the expenditure would directly benefit ordinary Kenyans.
“We are using the power of the purse to create at least even one job,” Ichung’wah said. “The NYOTA programme is not just supporting the growth of our country but changing the lives of families.”
He argued that the budget was largely a realignment exercise. “The budget is also realigning areas where a state department cannot absorb allocated resources.”
“Sh1.8 billion is coming from the Contingency Fund and is being taken to more important things,” Ichung'wah added. “Even as we politick, let us use this House to inform Kenyans of the facts.”
Yet even some MPs who supported the Bill acknowledged concerns over oversight of confidential expenditure, although they dismissed the existence of confidential votes (citing 2024 ban).
Rarieda MP Otiende Amollo supported the allocations but warned agencies against seeking money they may not spend before the financial year closes.
“I note that we have 12 days to the end of the financial year,” Amollo said. “I am hoping that the committee will caution the agencies to spend the money before the end of the financial year.”
He also raised concerns about confidential expenditure. “I note that half of this budget goes to agencies that handle confidential expenditure. I urge the Finance Committee and Budget Committee to work with Treasury on guidelines that separate what amounts to confidential expenditure.”
Funyula MP Wilberforce Oundo echoed the concern. “Those of us who sit in the Public Accounts Committee see several agencies fail to unpack confidential expenditure every year,” he said.
The concerns are reinforced by findings contained in the latest Controller of Budget report.
COB Margaret Nyakang’o, in her third-quarter budget implementation review report, raised red flags over the sharp increase in the use of supplementary estimates.
According to the report, Treasury approved Sh276.9 billion under Article 223 of the Constitution during the first nine months of the 2025-26 financial year.
Of the approved amount, the Controller of Budget authorised releases amounting to Sh206.81 billion, of which Sh187.34 billion were for recurrent expenditure.
Nyakang’o said some of the requests submitted under Article 223 appeared to be funding routine government operations rather than unforeseen emergencies.
“Some were routine in nature, intended to support day-to-day office operations,” the report read, with Nyakang’o recommending tighter controls.
