Nairobi: The Kenya Christian Professionals Forum (KCPF) has called upon Kenyans to pay closer attention to the 2025/2026 national budget estimates. Speaking during a media briefing held at the All-Saints Cathedral Church on Thursday, KCPF Chairman Charles Kanjama and Board Member Davis Muchere, a consultant for fraud risk management and a certified fraud examiner, urged the public and Parliament to demand accountability and transparency in the budgeting process. The duo raised serious concerns about the misalignment between projected revenue and expenditure, unsustainable borrowing, and suspicious allocations that may conceal budgeted corruption.
According to Kenya News Agency, Kanjama emphasized that the forum, under its Governance Accountability Program, is highlighting the urgent need for civic engagement during the public participation stage of the budget cycle. “We are here to discuss developments relating to the budgeting cycle. The budget estimates were presented to Parliament, and we are in a stage of public participation,” said Kanjama. “We are highlighting to Kenyans the importance of querying the figures, both estimates of revenue and estimates of expenditure, as Kenya prepares to finalize its 2025/2026 financial year’s budget,” he added. He stressed that proper financial governance is the foundation of state operations and that failure to address revenue-expenditure inconsistencies will likely worsen governance challenges.
Davis Muchere, a former National Treasury official with years of experience in auditing the budget process, encouraged the government on the importance of adhering to the Constitution in the way they handle public finances. Muchere expressed concern about the government’s borrowing practices, stating that as of April 30, 2025, the government had borrowed Sh1.1 trillion, out of which only Sh.190 billion was directed toward development expenditure. The remaining Sh.900 billion, he claimed, is being used for recurrent operations. “The Constitution requires that revenue must equal expenditure,” Muchere noted. “But currently, we are running the government through borrowing and not for development but for operations.”
He further explained, “Even when the government says it’s allocating Sh.600 billion for a project, in truth, it is borrowing that amount, meaning it is taxing citizens in advance. Borrowing is simply future taxation.” Muchere, who has been deeply involved in the budget process, went further to highlight evident irregularities in the estimates that suggest possible misuse of public funds. He raised red flags on an Sh.85 billion allocation under the Ministry of Education’s Basic Education Department labeled ‘non-financial private enterprises,’ an ambiguous and untraceable item. Another questionable allocation he cited was Sh.25 billion under the State Department of Petroleum earmarked for ‘private financial enterprises,’ which he said creates a loophole to siphon public funds to unknown entities.
Addressing concerns about the tight June 30 deadline for budget approval, the KCPF clarified that the Constitution, under Article 222, allows Parliament to approve half the estimates for continuity even if the Appropriation Act is delayed. This, they said, means there is no legal compulsion to rush the process at the expense of scrutiny. “The Constitution allows time. Parliament can approve half the budget to keep the government running,” said Muchere adding: “So why the rush? Let’s allow Kenyans enough time to interrogate the expenditure.”
Beyond financial issues, KCPF also expressed concern about recent incidents of insecurity, abductions, and extrajudicial killings in the country. As a Christian organization, they called upon state actors to uphold the rule of law. KCPF confirmed that it had already submitted a petition to the National Assembly several weeks ago but felt compelled to speak out due to the public’s lack of awareness about the full scope of the budgetary process.