Willis Otieno faults Ruto over eCitizen looting claims
By Ascah Mwango, August 21, 2025Lawyer and political commentator Willis Otieno has launched a blistering attack on President William Ruto, accusing him of presiding over a corrupt system in the wake of revelations that billions of shillings collected through the eCitizen platform cannot be accounted for.
In a hard-hitting statement shared on his X account on Thursday, August 21, 2025, Otieno argued that the President has turned public office into personal property, undermining constitutional principles and betraying the trust of Kenyans.
He maintained that the presidency should not be used as a tool for deceit, impunity, or looting through proxies and state-run platforms such as eCitizen, but rather as an office of service to the people.
Otieno further warned that the mismanagement of public resources erodes confidence in government institutions and entrenches corruption at the highest levels of leadership.
“Mr. Ruto, your presidency cannot be built on deceit and impunity. You cannot trample on the Constitution by treating public office as private property. Kenya did not elect you to loot through proxies and platforms like eCitizen, but to serve,” Otieno stated.
Crime scene
Otieno’s remarks came a week after Auditor General Nancy Gathungu released a damning report on the management of funds collected through the government’s eCitizen digital payments platform.
The audit for the financial year 2023 to 2024 shows that out of Ksh100.8 billion collected, at least Ksh44.8 billion could not be accounted for. According to the Auditor General, there were major discrepancies between figures recorded in the eCitizen portal, revenue statements and ledger balances. These variances cast doubt on the completeness and accuracy of the receipts.
The report further revealed that the funds were allegedly diverted through opaque transactions, unauthorised accounts and poor oversight mechanisms.
The Auditor General also flagged missing funds worth Ksh144 million in ministries and agencies such as the Ministry of Lands, Business Registration Services and the National Transport and Safety Authority. These losses were linked to duplicate, incomplete and unexplained payments.
In addition, many ministries, departments and agencies that collected money through eCitizen were found to have failed in keeping proper records of services offered.
Others could not reconcile their collections with actual transactions. Some even submitted conflicting and unaudited figures to the Treasury, making oversight impossible.
The audit also revealed that bank reconciliation statements for over Ksh7.1 billion held in several accounts were not provided for scrutiny. Without proper checks, ministries were able to spend or divert funds without parliamentary approval.
Balances from previous years amounting to Ksh145.8 million were also unsupported by documentation, while some contracts were signed by junior officers without the required approval from the Attorney General or Treasury.