Kenya has allocated Ksh24 million ($175,438) for the construction of a mausoleum for the late former president Mwai Kibaki, budget disclosures show.
Kibaki died on April 22, 2022, at 90 years old and was buried on April 30 in his ancestral home in Othaya home where he was accorded a state burial with military honours.
The mausoleum expenditure is covered in the approved budget estimates for the current 2022/23 financial year. This will be the second major expenditure by the state in one year towards the send-off of Kibaki.
The treasury last April spent Ksh260 million ($1.9 million) through a supplementary budget to finance the state funeral for the former head of state. A supplementary budget estimate tabled in Kenya’s Parliament on May 24, 2022, revealed the Ksh260 million was released on April 25 to cater for the unforeseen expenditure following the death of the country’s third president.
To enable the sudden expenditure, the country’s treasury invoked Article 223 of the constitution which allows the state to spend money not approved by parliament and seek approval of lawmakers within two months of expenditure.
“Subject to clauses (2) to (4), the national government may spend money that has not been appropriated if – (a) the amount appropriated for any purpose under the Appropriation Act is insufficient or a need has arisen for expenditure for a purpose for which no amount has been appropriated by that Act; or (b) money has been withdrawn from the Contingencies Fund,” Article 223 of the Kenyan Constitution says in part.
“The approval of Parliament for any spending under this Article shall be sought within two months after the first withdrawal of the money, subject to clause (3) and if Parliament is not sitting during the time contemplated in clause (2) or is sitting but adjourns before the approval has been sought, the approval shall be sought within two weeks after it next sits” it adds.
Appropriation bill
According to the constitution, when the National Assembly has approved spending under clause (2), an appropriation bill shall be introduced for the appropriation of the money spent.
The late Kibaki’s burial funds were released through Kenya’s State Department for Interior and Citizen Services.
The latest budget documents still do not show the expenses for the send-off of Kibaki’s predecessor Daniel arap Moi who died on February 4, 2020.
A retired head of state in Kenya is entitled to attractive pension perks. Before their deaths, Moi and Kibaki each received good retirement benefits including a fleet of luxury cars, a fully furnished office and about 40 workers.
They were also entitled to other perks like fuel, house and entertainment allowances running into hundreds of thousands of shillings that were paid for from the presidency budget.
For instance, running Moi’s and Kibaki’s offices cost Kenyan taxpayers Ksh243 million ($1.78 million) in the year to June 2020, with compensation to their staff, excluding those seconded from the government, taking Ksh126 million ($921,052).
