The Kenya Kwanza government spent nearly half a billion shillings on four by-elections in 2023 after President William Ruto nominated sitting Members of Parliament and Senators to his cabinet, triggering vacancies.
The affected seats fell vacant after Kandara MP Alice Wahome was appointed Water Cabinet Secretary; Garissa Township MP Aden Duale, named Defence Cabinet Secretary; Elgeyo Marakwet Senator Kipchumba Murkomen, selected as Transport Cabinet Secretary; and Bungoma Senator Moses Wetangula, elected Speaker of the National Assembly.
Two months ago, human rights lawyer Lempaa Suyianka requested information from the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission’s (IEBC) on the cost of these by-elections, arguing that public funds were misused due to what he termed as unnecessary by elections.
IEBC Secretary Marjan Hussein Marjan disclosed that Kshs. 471,052,672 was spent on logistics, voter education, and personnel for the four by-elections where Kandara Constituency consumed Kshs. 49,509,854, Garissa Township Constituency Kshs. 44,412,259, Elgeyo Marakwet County Kshs. 143,977,287, and Bungoma County Kshs. 233,153,272.
Suyinka condemned the appointments, arguing they sparked unnecessary, expensive by-elections, burdening taxpayers and disrupting governance without justifiable cause, urging more prudent decision-making to avoid such costly political maneuvers.
Suyinka stated that the by-elections revealed systemic inefficiencies necessitating urgent legislative reform to protect public resources. He added that such reforms could save billions, allowing funds to be redirected to development instead of recurring electoral expenses.
“Now that the IEBC has released the information, I will sue over the imprudent use of public funds under Article 201 of Kenya’s Constitution,” he declared, vowing to challenge the legality of the nominations and spending.
He further argued that appointing sitting MPs and senators to cabinet roles without public consultation violates constitutional principles, deprives citizens of representation, and wastes resources on unnecessary by-elections.
Last month, the City lawyer also filed an urgent petition seeking to block President William Ruto from appointing more advisors and to stop salary payments to the 21 already in office.
He argued that there is no legal framework or regulations outlining how many advisers the President can appoint, creating a loophole that allows the head of state to flood the civil service with political appointees.
“These individuals are brought on board without adherence to the values and principles governing public service. The President has appointed a parallel civil service that duplicates the functions of the official civil service,” the court documents read.
What is the correct name of the lawyer name?