Endebess Member of Parliament Robert Pukose has dismissed a recent report from the Controller of Budget, labelling claims regarding the country’s immediate debt obligations as inaccurate.

The controversy centers on a report released by the Controller of Budget, Margaret Nyakang’o, detailing that the country is getting deeper into a dangerous debt trap driven by costly borrowing and poor coordination in project implementation.

Appearing before the National Assembly’s Committee on Public Debt and Privatisation at Bunge Tower on Monday, March 30, 2026, she painted a bleak picture of the country’s finances, warning that a vicious cycle of debt accumulation is steadily shrinking fiscal space and making it harder to carry out the budget effectively.

Debt concerns

Nyakang’o revealed that Kenya’s public debt had surged to Ksh12.29 trillion as of December 2025, representing 67.8 per cent of the country’s GDP, significantly above the legal threshold of 55 per cent.

“Half of debt payments are only financial costs rather than debt reduction. The principal figure is not reducing. We are just paying interest,” Nyakang’o told the committee.

Pukose, while speaking in an interview with a local station on Wednesday, April 1, 2026, questioned the source and accuracy of these figures, stating that the report was not factual.

Pukose characterised this claim as crazy, pointing out that Ksh3.3 trillion represents the entire national budget for Kenya.

“I don’t know where the control of the budget got the report. Many of the current debts we have as a country have already been negotiated. It is not factual,” Pukose explained.

“I’ve consulted with many of my colleagues, and nobody seems to know where the Controller of Budget got that information.”

Treasury on Margaret Nyakang’o’s claim

Reports of delayed payments were dismissed by the National Treasury, which says that all Ksh53.56 billion in Treasury bond interest was paid out on time and in full.

In a statement on Tuesday, March 31, 2026, responding to the claim by the Controller of Budget (COB), Margaret Nyakang’o, the Treasury said the payments were honoured on time.

“This characterisation is inaccurate and potentially misleading. While the amounts may have appeared outstanding within the Exchequer reporting framework, the full obligations were duly settled on the due dates as they fell due in May and June 2025 through the government overdraft facility maintained at the Central Bank of Kenya, in line with established cash management and overdraft operating procedures,” the statement said.

According to the Treasury, the overdraft facility serves as a standard liquidity buffer, allowing the government to bridge temporary cash flow gaps while ensuring critical payments are not disrupted.