Busia Senator Okiya Omtatah announced on Thursday, April 24, that he had officially withdrawn Petition No. 531 of 2015, a case that had been ongoing in court for nearly ten years.
The petition, which addressed Kenya’s controversial debt issues, had named former President Uhuru Kenyatta and former Deputy President William Ruto as the first and second respondents, respectively.
During a press conference, the outspoken senator explained the reasons behind this move. He noted that the case had been bogged down by endless legal technicalities, making it difficult to move forward. Despite withdrawing it, Omtatah made it clear that the fight for financial accountability in Kenya is not over.
“After engaging in consultations and reviewing the repeated legal challenges raised by the court, we realized it was impossible to continue with this petition in its current form.
Therefore, we decided to withdraw it strategically to prevent the negative consequences that were building up,” Omtatah said.
He also assured the public that the same case would be refiled promptly, this time avoiding the technical barriers that had delayed progress.
“We are going to refile it immediately to remove all those legal traps that were set up like landmines,” he added.
The original petition, filed back in 2015, accused top government officials of mismanaging the Eurobond funds.
The case alleged that the borrowed money was not handled transparently and was unlawfully deposited into offshore accounts, instead of being sent to the Consolidated Fund as required by the Constitution and the Public Finance Management Act.
The petitioners wanted the government to explain clearly how the Eurobond proceeds were used and to ensure that such large sums of public money were accounted for properly.
This decision to withdraw comes shortly after Omtatah made bold public statements claiming that Kenya, in reality, has no legitimate public debt.
According to him, the massive amounts of money borrowed under the leadership of Uhuru Kenyatta and William Ruto were not officially Kenya’s public debt. Instead, he believes those debts were illegally acquired and should be linked directly to the individuals in charge at the time.
Omtatah pointed to the controversial amendment of the Public Finance Management (PFM) Act in 2014 as a turning point.
He claimed this amendment was passed without involving the Senate, in violation of Article 110 of the Constitution.
As a result, Treasury officials gained unchecked authority to open foreign bank accounts and take on international loans without going through Parliament or involving the public.
He argued that this loophole allowed for widespread mismanagement and ballooning of national debt.
However, these claims are strongly disputed by government reports. According to official records, Kenya’s public debt stands at approximately Ksh11 trillion.
Of this, around Ksh5 trillion is domestic debt, made up mainly of Treasury bills and bonds, while the remaining Ksh5.09 trillion is external debt owed to multilateral organizations, bilateral partners, and commercial lenders.
Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi has repeatedly stated that Kenya is taking solid steps towards reducing its debt and hopes to be debt-free within the next decade.
At present, Kenya’s debt stands at 63% of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP), slightly above the advised limit of 55%.
The government has until November 1, 2029, to bring the debt level within the recommended range.
Speaking during the launch of the 2025 Medium-Term Debt Management Strategy in March, Mbadi emphasized that the bigger issue was not Kenya’s ability to repay its debts, but the short timeframes in which those debts are due.
He explained that to ease the pressure, the government plans to reduce reliance on short-term Treasury bills and instead focus on medium- and long-term debt instruments.
This approach will help spread repayment periods and create more breathing room for the economy.
In summary, while Omtatah’s legal move might seem like a retreat, he insists it’s a tactical step to strengthen the case and push forward with renewed momentum.
His focus remains on holding leaders accountable and ensuring public finances are managed in a transparent and constitutional manner.
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