Willis Otieno: Kenya risks debt trap as borrowing shifts to consumption under Ruto
By Emmanuel Rono, April 17, 2026Safina Party Deputy Party Leader Willis Otieno has raised concerns over Kenya’s growing debt burden, claiming that the country is borrowing to consume and to service existing debt.
Taking to his X account on Friday, April 17, 2026, Otieno warned that the country risks sliding into a dangerous cycle of borrowing to sustain existing obligations rather than financing development.
According to Otieno, Kenya is increasingly taking loans not to build a productive economy, but to fund consumption and service existing debt. He said the trend is a clear signal of fiscal stress and a lack of strategic economic planning.
“We are no longer borrowing to build a productive economy; we are borrowing to consume and to service existing debt, a clear signal of fiscal strain rather than strategic planning,” Otieno said.
Debt balancing
He said warned that under the current administration, growing concerns of government revenue are directed towards debt balancing, which he said risks crowding out public investments in sectors including infrastructure, health, and education.
He further stated that the shift could weaken essential services while placing a heavier financial burden on citizens through higher taxes and increased cost of living.
According to Otieno, this could transform the government from a driver of economic development into what he referred to as a mechanism of extraction.
“Under William Ruto, Kenya risks entrenching a debt cycle where new loans merely refinance old obligations instead of financing growth-enhancing investments,” Otieno stated.
“In such a scenario, revenue is increasingly diverted to debt servicing, crowding out public investment, weakening essential services, and shifting the burden onto citizens through higher taxes and rising living costs , turning government from an engine of development into a mechanism of extraction.”
Wanjigi on Ruto’s over-rising debt burden
Safina Party leader and businessman Jimi Wanjigi has accused the government of trapping Kenyans in a cycle of parallel taxation and unsustainable borrowing, claiming that President William Ruto has become nothing more than just a debt collector.
Speaking during an interview with a local station on Thursday, April 16, 2026, Wanjigi argued that Kenya’s current fiscal approach is unsustainable, warning that borrowed funds are largely being used to service existing debts instead of driving economic growth.
“We are borrowing to consume. We are borrowing to pay debt. William Ruto, over the last few years, has been nothing more than just a debt collector. Just a debt collector,” Wanjigi said.