Nakuru West MP Arama dismisses state empowerment programs as a scam
By Mabonga Makhanu, August 20, 2025Nakuru West MP Samuel Arama has strongly criticised the ongoing empowerment programmes spearheaded by the state, terming them a scam and lacking in substance.
Speaking on Manoti TV on Wednesday, August 20, 2025, Arama expressed his disapproval of the initiatives, particularly those championed by Deputy President Kithure Kindiki and several government-allied legislators.
The legislator questioned the source of the funds being channelled into these forums, arguing that most of the MPs involved were only recently elected and did not have significant financial resources before joining Parliament. He went on to observe that some of the same MPs now contributing hundreds of thousands of shillings often cannot afford to eat outside Parliament and instead opt for meals within the precincts. This, he argued, raised serious concerns about how they are suddenly in a position to donate such large sums.
“You can’t tell me that these members of parliament who are giving Ksh1 million, where are they getting the money from? Some of them can’t be able to feed in hotels in Nairobi. Members of parliament unakuta member o parliament hawezi kula outside bunge, kwa sababu chakula ya bunge ni free,” Arama said.
Arama maintained that if the funds being used are from government coffers, then they should be distributed equally across all constituencies to ensure fairness and transparency.
His issue with Kindiki
He further cast doubt on Deputy President Kindiki’s personal involvement, questioning how he was able to sustain a daily expenditure of Ksh2 million on empowerment activities while his official salary stands at Ksh1.4 million.
“Empowerment ni ukora; people are not benefiting. I can tell you for free, the deputy president can’t purport to be giving Ksh2 million in every empowerment when we know his salary is Ksh1.4 million. Where does he get Ksh2 million to give to every empowerment?” Arama added
Although Arama is currently an ally of President William Ruto, having defected from the Jubilee Party after his election to support the government of the day, he did not spare the head of state from criticism. He accused the president of being the root cause of the controversial empowerment programme and insisted that he must be compelled to bring it to an end.