National Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi has found himself in a heated exchange with Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna over the government’s use of public funds in launching the National Youth Opportunities Towards Advancement (NYOTA) programme.

Raising a question on the funding of the NYOTA trips on Wednesday, February 25, 2026, Sifuna questioned the cost of transporting the presidents to the events and why such events are used to advance political rhetoric.

“How much does it cost to put up those fancy tents that we see in NYOTA events? How much does it cost to transport all of you, including the president, to those events? Why do you allow politics to be played on those podiums?” Sifuna asked.

Mbadi’s furious response

In his response before the Senate, CS Mbadi emphasised that the president’s travels and NYOTA launches were financed within a budget already approved by the National Assembly, meaning that they were legitimate expenditures and not acts of unilateral or inappropriate spending.

“The president’s travels and NYOTA launches were financed within a budget already approved by the National Assembly. Kenyans are very interesting people. When you don’t communicate, they want public participation. When you do public participation for the Nyota Programme, they ask, ‘Why are you doing it? Why are you politicising it and how much are you using?’ Mbadi said.

Mbadi went further in a rather furious tone, questioning whether critics expected the president to walk to the events, framing Sifuna’s line of questioning as misleading and partisan rather than based on genuine fiscal concerns.

“Do you expect the president to walk?” Mbadi added.

Sifuna, a vocal critic of what he perceives as the politicisation of public programmes, argued that the president’s county tours, often large, highly publicised events, could be seen as using public funds for political purposes rather than genuine youth empowerment.

National Treasury CS @JohnMbadiN: Kenyans are very interesting people. When you don't communicate, they want public participation. When you do public participation for the Nyota Programme they ask, why are you doing it? Why are you politicising it and how much are you using?… pic.twitter.com/8KZdgWzq9x

— Senate of Kenya (@Senate_KE) February 25, 2026

He challenged the government to explain why such frequent travels were necessary, particularly in the context of competing fiscal priorities and a tight national budget.

The exchange underscores the deepening political tensions in Kenya as leaders debate not just fiscal policy, but also the perceived political uses of government programmes ahead of the 2027 elections.

Leaders opposed to the government have been accusing the president of using public resources to drive his political agenda ahead of his re-election campaign in 2027.