Uhuru Kenyatta Wants to be Both Landlord and Tenant - Government

The government has responded to claims by former President Uhuru Kenyatta that his office was not being funded by the government.  

In a statement by Government Spokesperson Isaac Mwaura on Monday evening, June 10, the government debunked the assertions that the office of the third retired president was not being fully funded.  

On the matter of Uhuru's office space, Mwaura said that the office used by the late President Mwai Kibaki in Nyari was suitable for Kenyatta. 

"In 2012/2013, the government purchased an office of the retired President. This office is located in Nyari, Nairobi. This is the office the late President Mwai Kibaki used for nine years, between 2013 and 2023. It is therefore a suitable office for any retired president. 

“By rejecting this office and preferring that the government leases his own private home, the Third Retired President is inviting the government to violate procurement laws, regulations, and procedures. The Third Retired President wants to be both a landlord and a tenant at the same time," read part of the government spokesperson's statement.

On the issue of vehicles, Mwaura claimed that the retired president has been provided with 14 vehicles, which are fueled and maintained by the State House. 

He denied claims that the vehicles' fuel master cards had been blocked, disclosing that they were being fueled by the State House Master Card. 

“They also alleged falsely that their fuel cards have been blocked. We, however, put it on record that the vehicles are fueled through the State House Master Card. Our records show that several vehicles were fueled as recently as May 15, 2024,” Mwaura remarked.

He further maintained that the vehicles were not as old as alleged by Kenyatta's office as they were procured between 2020 and 2022.

“The vehicles were bought in the years ranging between 2020, 2021 and 2022. They are, therefore, very befitting of the person of the third retired President. They include 2 Range Rover Autobiography, 2 Range Rover Sport, Mercedes S600L, Armoured Land Cruiser V8 and 4 Prados,” Mwaura added.

Additionally, the government spokesperson intimated that the retired president's office had made a request for the purchase of four vehicles whose prices were staggering at Sh140 million.

“They are Range Rover Vogue (First Edition) at Ksh 51.3 million, Mercedes Benz 5500 worth Ksh 66.4 million, Toyota Land Cruiser ZX-VXRK6 worth KSh22.5 million and Toyota Fortuner at Ksh 10.6 million,” Mwaura remarked.

However, appearing on Citizen TV on Monday night, Kenyatta's director of communications, Kanze Dena, disclosed evidence of requests made to State House over the fueling of the vehicles that were not honoured.

She further produced receipts of payment from Kenyatta's office, which were payments for fueling the former president's vehicles.

Meanwhile, on the issue of budget, the government spokesperson detailed that the government pays the salaries and allowances of the retired president and his staff. 

And on the matter of Kenyatta's staff, Mwaura noted that the former Head of State and his staff were on the payroll, adding that according to the Presidential Retirement Benefits Act, the former president should have 34 staff, and already 33 were in office. 

Kanze Dena, however, provided evidence of a letter sent to the State House for the re-staffing of Kenyatta's office but there was no response.