Kindiki publicly shows his chopper rides amid scrutiny over travel budget
By Ndiritu Wanjiru, June 21, 2026Deputy President Kithure Kindiki was dropped off in Uasin Gishu County by a Kenya Air Force helicopter, raising further controversy over the Kenyan government’s spending and allocation of resources and raising fears that budget cuts will impact the Office of the Deputy President.
Kindiki landed in the North Rift County in a military aircraft on Sunday, June 21, 2026, amid growing interest in his recent allocation to his office in the national budget.
The visit follows public debate on the level of funding the Deputy President’s office receives, with disgruntled critics wondering whether the lower level of funding could have an impact on the office’s work and its ability to carry out its mandate effectively.
The optics of the Deputy President flying in a Kenya Air Force chopper cannot go unnoticed
One of the controversial issues in the current budget debate is the expenditure of government resources on the budget of the office of the Deputy President.
Kindiki has long maintained that governments have to use the resources they have and focus on providing services to Kenyans.
Deputy President’s office expenditure
The Office of the Deputy President had an initial recurrent budget of approximately Ksh2.97 billion that was later complemented by supplementary budget allocations of up to Ksh1.8 billion for shortfalls, renovations, travel and hospitality, activities that caused some controversy among a group of leaders and among the public.
The Office of the Controller of Budget revealed that the Office of the Deputy President also accessed additional funding under Article 223.
The office had:
- Recurrent allocation: Ksh2.97 billion
- Approved Article 223 funding: Ksh1.05 billion
- Actual withdrawals approved: Ksh507.84 million
On June 16, 2026, Kindiki also shared photos of himself disembarking from a plane while attending a function in Mombasa.