Kindiki’s Wife Spent Sh45 Million In Six Months Without Parliament Approval

Nairobi, Kenya — The Office of the Spouse of the Deputy President spent more than Sh44 million in six months despite having no budget approved by Parliament, a new audit report has revealed.

The report by Controller of Budget Margaret Nyakang’o shows that the Office of the Spouse of the Deputy President used Sh44.52 million between July and December 2025 even though it had not been allocated any funds in the 2025/26 financial year.

The office is headed by Dr Joyce Njagi Kithure, the spouse of Deputy President Kithure Kindiki.

According to the budget implementation review submitted to the National Assembly of Kenya, the expenditure was incurred despite the office not having a formal budget allocation approved by lawmakers.

Controller of Budget Nyakang’o noted in the report that the office operated without an approved vote in the national budget but still incurred millions in spending during the period under review.

“The Office of the Spouse of the Deputy President had no budgetary allocation in the period under review but incurred expenditure of Sh44.52 million,” the report states.

The audit indicates that the activities of the office may have been facilitated through the Office of the Deputy President, which has its own budget allocation.

However, the Controller of Budget pointed out that facilitating the operations of the spouse of the deputy president is not one of the legally defined mandates of the deputy president’s office.

The revelations have reignited debate over the legality and funding of offices held by spouses of senior government officials.

In 2024, President William Ruto ordered the removal of budget allocations for the offices of the First Lady, the spouse of the Deputy President and the spouse of the Prime Cabinet Secretary as part of austerity measures aimed at reducing public expenditure.

The directive came at a time when the government was under pressure to cut spending amid rising public debt and growing public anger over tax increases.

Before the directive, the government had set aside about Sh1.3 billion to fund the three offices despite them not being established in law.

Parliament is now expected to scrutinise the findings of the report as part of its oversight role on public spending, with questions emerging about how public funds were used without an approved budget allocation.