Wamuzi News Ke
The fiscal revelation that can be described as scorching and indeed has caused tremors in the government circles: Controller of Budget Margaret Nyakang’o disclosed that an enormous sum of Sh43 billion in public funds was allocated without the approval of the Parliament, thus raising immediate issues of law regarding government control over the budget and accountability of the executive.
The statement made by Nyakang’o in her annual budget implementation report mentioned the extra allocations totaling Sh43.49 billion, which were made during the fiscal year 2025/26 without parliamentary approval, thus breaking the constitutional requirement.
Out of this total, Sh33.54 billion was allotted for recurrent expenditure and Sh9.95 billion for development spending, with the State Department for Transport and the National Treasury standing out as the top beneficiaries.
According to Article 223 of the Constitution, the government can only use supplementary funds when the initial budget cannot cover all the expenditures, new obligations emerge, or a withdrawal from the Contingencies Fund becomes necessary—and such additional allocations must be presented to Parliament within two months for approval.
Nyakang’o cautioned that in this scenario Parliament has not exercised its scrutiny over the matter for more than five months.
The Controller of Budget has now issued a final warning to the government to comply with constitutional timelines, forcing Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi to make disbursements with the National Assembly.
This is not only a matter of timing but also a question of the executive action that is feared to be overshadowing the Legislature’s constitutional role in protecting public finances.
Among the controversial withdrawals, Nyakang’o made up to Sh200 million that had been allocated on September 25, 2025, for the Registrar of Political Parties. This money was supposed to be used in an appeal against a major political party in 2018. So far, the disbursement has not been regularized.
The disclosures have already provoked fiscal analysts and constitutional experts alike to pronounce a public debate over the government’s transparency and the separation of powers that will be very hot, at a time when the national debt has already begun to test Kenya’s fiscal resilience along with revenue shortfalls.
Moreover, observers are also advising that if deviations from legislative oversight continue, this could lead to a loss of confidence in public finance management plus lawsuits being brought against the government.
So far, Parliament has not issued any formal response to the Controller’s report; nevertheless, it is anticipated that the issue will be the main topic during the upcoming budget committee sessions and will consequently lead to the urgent calls for tighter enforcement of the constitutional requirement regarding budgetary procedures.
