Auditor General exposes irregular use of Ksh10.5B by political parties
By Mercy Mwai, August 16, 2025Auditor General Nancy Gathungu has unearthed how political parties irregularly spent Ksh10.5 billion.
In her report, Gathungu has also detailed how out of 45 outfits, Jubilee Party, Pamoja Alliance Party and Kenya African Democratic Union-Asili, with a total funding of Ksh80.6 million, were not audited due to late submission of financial statements or failure to submit the financial statements.
Reads the report: “The audit for the 2023/2024 financial year has identified several systemic issues affecting political parties. The issues include inaccuracies in financial reporting, lack of supporting documentation and weak internal controls. Additional concerns include poor governance practices, non-compliance with regulatory requirements, and limited assurance of value-for-money in the use of public funds.”
The report for the financial year 2023/2024 has also fingered 37 political parties for not establishing branch offices in at least 24 counties.
According to the report, 25 of the parties had as few as one to five county offices, while others lacked documentation such as lease agreements, staff lists, or activity reports to verify the existence of county branches.
Out of the 37 parties, the most notable ones are United Democratic Alliance (UDA) associated with President William Ruto (21 offices), Kalonzo Musyoka’s Wiper has only 14 offices, Martha Karua’s s Narc Kenya which has rebranded to People’s Liberation party (PLP) has three offices, Charity Ngilu’s National Rainbow Coalition (NARC) has two offices, former Baringo Senator Gideon Moi’s Party of National Unity (PNU) has two offices. The Service Party associated with Laikipia MP Mwangi Kiunjuri, Chama Cha Kazi and Democratic Action Party Kenya (DAP-K) associated with Eugene Wamalwa have nine offices each; the defunct Amani National Congress Party, which was associated with Musalia Mudavadi, had seven offices.
With regards to the Ksh10.5 billion, the report shows that there were financial inaccuracies amounting to Ksh10.19 billion relating to 16 political parties.
The inaccuracies range from unreconciled cash flow variances to misstatements in the statement of financial positions and budget execution reports.
The discrepancies were recorded in Kanu, which reported variances totalling Ksh10.1 billion, and Wiper Democratic Movement, with inaccuracies amounting to Ksh35.6 million.
Others are Narc Kenya Ksh1.2 million, Party of National Unity (PNU) Ksh3.5 million, Chama Cha Kazi Ksh4.1 million, United Democratic Movement Ksh1.3million, Kenya National Congress Ksh1 million, Mabadiliko Party of Kenya KSh583,778, Ubuntu People’s Forum Party KSh883, 269, Communist Party of Kenya Ksh218, 786, Grand Dream Development Party Ksh53,314 and Green Thinking Action Party (GTAP) Ksh489,000.
Reads the report: “These substantial amounts undermine the reliability of financial information and raise concerns about transparency, accountability, and governance in the use of public funds by the Political Parties.”
On unsupported expenditure, the report shows that six political parties had unconfirmed spending amounting to Ksh22.4 million.
These expenditures primarily relate to unverified operating costs, staff allowances, and program-related expenses not backed by ledgers, bank statements, or reconciliations.
The most significant case was observed in Kanu, which reported an unsupported expenditure amounting to Ksh15.7 million, largely attributed to unsubstantiated program activities and employee-related costs, while the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) and Wiper Democratic Movement had irregularities amounting to Ksh2.6 million and Ksh2.3 million.
Further, the report shows that four political parties have unsupported trade and other payables amounting to Ksh42.8 million.
These balances were not accompanied by adequate documentation such as payment vouchers, invoices, supplier statements or lease agreements, rendering them unverifiable.
The most affected parties include the Democratic Party of Kenya (Ksh2.1 million), Wiper (Ksh2.9 million), Communist Party of Kenya (Ksh351,900) and Kanu (Ksh37.3 million).
The report also shows that 16 parties have unsupported balances amounting to Ksh275.95 million, out of which Kanu was reported to have the highest unsupported balances totalling Ksh212.7 million, comprising trade payables totalling Ksh37.4 million and borrowings/loans totalling Ksh175.4 million, which did not have supporting schedules or documentation.
Similarly, NARC-Kenya had unsupported balances totalling Ksh27.4 million relating to members’ contributions, receivables, trade and other payables, and cash and cash equivalents. Wiper also had an unsupported balance of Ksh14 million arising from a prior year adjustment that was not supported by relevant documentation or reconciliation schedules.
Reads the report: “These cases reflect a broader pattern observed across the sixteen (16) political parties, where unsupported balances were largely from undocumented contributions receivables, liabilities, prior year adjustments, and asset entries.
The inaccuracies range from unreconciled cash flow variances to misstatements in the statement of financial positions and budget execution reports.