President William Ruto has declared a firm war on corruption in government procurement, warning that officials who resist reforms have no place in his administration.

Speaking during a church service at St Peter’s ACK Cathedral in Siaya County on Sunday, August 2025, the president said the era of inflated contracts and fraudulent quotations was over as his government rolls out e-procurement systems to ensure transparency.

“Kuna watu wengi wazoea kandarasi ya ukora, kitu ya shillingi mbili tunanunua na shillingi 10 kama serikali kwa sababu ya procurement ya ukora ya quotation hapo. Tumesema tunaweka e-procurement. Wacha ijulikane imenunuliwa pesa ngapi na imeuziwa serikali na nani, na mbona mtu wa shillingi mbili hakupata hio kandarasi na mtu wa shillingi kumi akapata,” Ruto said.

The president revealed that some procurement officers and accounting officers have been resisting the reforms because they want to protect old systems that enabled theft of public funds. He maintained that such resistance will not succeed, stressing that the new system must be implemented.

“Najua kuna resistance, procurement officers, accounting officers hawataki hio maneno kwa sababu wanataka kuendelea ya wizi ya zamani. Nyinyi na ukora na ufisadi yenu hamuwezi kutuzuia tuhakikishe pesa ya serikali inatumiwa inavyopaswa,” he said.

Non-negotiable

President Ruto emphasised that e-procurement is non-negotiable and is meant to seal loopholes that have drained billions of shillings from public coffers. He told government workers that they either align with the reforms or find other jobs outside public service.

“We are going to implement e-procurement, and there is no going back. Any official who is not ready to work with us in e-procurement wanaeza toka kwa serikali watafute kazi ingine,” the President warned.

The president’s remarks come at a time when Kenyans have raised concerns about widespread corruption in government tenders, with inflated prices and ghost suppliers draining resources meant for development. By digitising the procurement process, the government hopes to end tender cartels and ensure that taxpayers’ money is used prudently.

Ruto’s tough stance in Siaya sent a strong message across the public sector that entrenched corruption in procurement will not be tolerated under his leadership.