Lawyer Willis Otieno has argued that it is economically unjust to force Kenyans to service loans taken by the state without their full awareness and consent.

Taking to his X account on Wednesday, October 1, 2025, Otieno stated that every shilling allocated to service the particular loans is intended for basic service provision.

”Forcing Kenyans to repay odious debt, loans borrowed without their consent, without transparency, and without any real benefit to the people, is nothing less than economic genocide,” Otieno noted.

Willis Otieno’s argument comes weeks after a recent TIFA survey report revealed that the Finance Bill 2025 is perceived as worsening the cost of living and eroding personal finances for most Kenyans. He added that the burden of repaying the particular loans has left many Kenyans barely surviving in hard economic days.

While the government may argue it enables better services, very few citizens share that view. The overwhelming takeaway is that the bill is deeply unpopular due to its direct impact on daily expenses, income, and economic plans.

”It is the systematic killing of opportunity, strangling of livelihoods, and mortgaging of future generations. Every shilling diverted to service these illegitimate debts is stolen from classrooms, hospitals, and the small businesses that keep families alive. Odious debt does not build a nation; it buries it,” he noted.

This comes days after former Chief Justice David Maraga said that public debt had gone haywire since 2013 and warned that unless the issue was addressed, Kenya risked defaulting, which could lead to unprecedented consequences.

Responsible borrowing

In September 2025, Willis Otieno also suggested that Kenyans should only pay the national debts that the Parliament has lawfully approved.

Taking to his X account on Tuesday, September 9, 2025, Willis Otieno said there is no point in overburdening the citizens when money borrowed does not do the intended work for the people.

Elsewhere, Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro raised concerns over the government’s secretive borrowing.

Otieno further likened the Kenyan debt crisis to that of Mozambique, where the particular country once refused to pay its debts, and yet it still exists today. According to Otieno, this was because debt acquired without the consent of the people, for purposes that do not serve the people, is odious.

”It is not a national obligation but a private liability of those who contracted it. Kenya today sits on Ksh2.3 trillion in questionable debt, which is more than half of our budget. These loans were never meant to build schools, hospitals, or industries,” Otieno said.

As President William Ruto marked three years in office in September, Kenya has so far borrowed Ksh3.5 trillion. Economists now warn that the rising debt is unhealthy.