“It’s About Efficiency” – Gladys Boss Justifies Kindiki’s KSh153M Helicopter Spending

National Assembly Deputy Speaker Gladys Boss has come to the defense of the substantial budgetary expenditures linked to Deputy President Kithure Kindiki’s office. Her remarks follow the submission of parliamentary documents indicating that the deputy president spent Ksh.153.6 million on helicopter travel within a single 75-day period.

Boss maintains that both the President and his Deputy have a clear mandate to traverse the nation using their preferred modes of transport. While she acknowledges the scale of the spending, she asserts that the role of Parliament is to evaluate the prudence of these costs rather than simply capping the figures.

“The President and the DP are obligated to travel across the country and follow up on ongoing projects. They cannot be holed up in the city and purport to be the president,” she told Citizen TV on Monday.

The Deputy Speaker called for a focus on efficiency and results during the budget-making process. She suggests that as long as the executive can justify these expenses as the most effective means of conducting state business, the expenditure remains valid.

“All Parliament needs to do is to deliberate with them at the budget-making process, as long as the money is put to good use, it is not about the amount. You need to ask whether good use was put to Ksh.154 million. If they can justify that it was the most efficient and cheap way, then it is okay.”

The National Assembly’s Public Accounts Committee has placed Deputy President Kithure Kindiki’s office under intense scrutiny following reports of rapidly escalating and unjustified expenditures. Lawmakers are demanding answers regarding Ksh.478 million in pending bills owed to suppliers and service providers for the 2024/25 financial year.

Particular concern centers on the office’s travel expenses, which average roughly Ksh.8 million per day for helicopter services. These high-altitude expenses have left the office with an outstanding debt of Ksh.150 million specifically for chopper rentals. This financial probe emerges just days after Members of Parliament unanimously approved a Ksh. 450 million boost to the Deputy President’s budget under the 2025/26 supplementary estimates.

Further data from the Controller of Budget reveals a swift depletion of resources, showing that Kindiki’s office exhausted 91% (Ksh. 2.7 billion) of its initial annual budget in less than six months. The committee expressed additional alarm over the nature of these transactions, noting that 54% of the total budget funded non-classified expenses, leaving a significant portion of the spending open to question.

At the same time, a recent audit report thrust the Office of the Spouse of the Deputy President into the spotlight for spending over Sh44 million in six months without parliamentary approval. Controller of Budget Margaret Nyakang’o revealed last month that the office, led by Dr. Joyce Njagi Kithure, utilized Sh44.52 million between July and December 2025, despite receiving zero allocation in the 2025/26 financial year.

The budget implementation review submitted to the National Assembly confirms that the office incurred these costs despite lacking a formal vote from lawmakers. Nyakang’o pointed out the irregularity of a state office operating and spending millions while remaining absent from the official national budget.

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

The audit suggests that the Office of the Deputy President likely bankrolled these activities through its budget.

However, the Controller of Budget clarified that supporting the spouse’s operations falls outside the legally defined mandates of the Deputy President’s office. These findings have sparked fresh controversy regarding the legality and public funding of offices occupied by the spouses of high-ranking government officials.

In 2024, President William Ruto eliminated budget allocations for the offices of the First Lady, the spouse of the Deputy President, and the spouse of the Prime Cabinet Secretary. This move formed a central part of his broader austerity measures, which the president designed to slash public expenditure and stabilize the national economy.

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