More billions flow to State House and Ruto's office 14 months to polls

Massive increases in budget allocations to the Office of the President and State House have raised questions about how the money will be spent as the country heads towards the next General Election in August next year.

With just 14 months to the General Election, the approval of a Sh4.8 trillion national budget by Parliament has also given a pointer to the areas President William Ruto wants to be adequately funded as he seeks re-election come 2027.

The President who has mounted a sustained campaign battle against a united opposition and as the polls near, he finds himself at an advantage over his competitors who have grappled with mobilising resources to traverse the country to sell their agenda. 

According to the 2026/27 financial year budget, the Office of the President has been allocated Sh7.49 billion meant to cater for general administration, government printing services and advisory services. This is an increase by a staggering Sh2 billion from the Sh5.1 billion issued to the same office in the previous financial year.

And that’s not all. Under the State House budget, President Ruto has access to  Sh13.64 billion

This is an increase from Sh8.5 billion allocated in the current financial year, which rose after MPs approved Sh6 billion more through supplementary budgets.

The figures have been at the centre of controversy. According to the Controller of Budget Margaret Nyakang’o, State House accessed and spent an additional Sh4.45 billion that was not included in the original parliamentary allocation for the current financial year.

In her National Government Budget Implementation Review Report for the first nine months of 2025/26 (ending March 2026), Nyakang’o highlighted that State House recorded significant over-expenditure under its Coordination of State House Functions programme.

“The over-expenditure on coordination of State House functions sub-programme was attributable to additional funding of Sh4.45 billion under Article 223 of the Constitution in favour of the State House for other operating expenses,” the report reads in part.

Granted, Article 223 of the Constitution allows the national government to withdraw funds not initially approved by Parliament in cases of emergency or unforeseen need, subject to approval by the Controller of Budget.

President Ruto’s war chest is also set to be fortified through allocations to the Office of the Registrar of Political Parties which his United Democratic Alliance(UDA) party is set to benefit from. In the coming financial year, the National Treasury allocated Sh2.479 billion to ORPP which includes recurrent and development expenditures.  The allocation is an increase from the Sh1.9 billion allocation in the current financial year.

Out of the amount Sh2.32 billion has been allocated to the Political Parties Fund with the amount set to be shared out to political parties –including the ruling UDA party.

The provincial administration, that includes county and sub county commissioners, Chiefs and their assistants, and now village elders are expected to play a key role in mobilising voters for registration. In the past they were also used to rally support for the government that was in power.

Early this year, the President invited them to State House for a luncheon before Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen embarked on a country Jukwaa la Usalama tour.

 Other sectors under the ambit of the Executive such as the National Police Service, which is critical for overseeing the electioneering period, has been allocated Sh143.19 billion in the current budget. This allocation features Sh140.38 billion for recurrent expenditure (operations) and Sh2.81 billion for development.

Key priority areas for NPS include bridging the police-to-population ratio by recruiting additional officers and facilitating human resource and welfare. It also seeks to ensure sustained funding for ongoing security operations across the country and enhanced logistical capabilities in preparation for the upcoming 2027 General Elections.