Uhuru Admits Government Loses Sh2 Billion Daily to Graft

President Kenyatta has defended the government’s plan to spend funds on a referendum whose aim is to introduce changes to the 2010 Constitution.

Uhuru said the budget set aside for the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) process is peanuts compared to what is embezzled by public officials.

Speaking during an interview aired on vernacular FM stations on Monday, the president indicated that taxpayers’ money amounting to Sh2 billion is stolen every day.

“The billions they steal in some of the projects that I will not mention are more than that (what will be spent on BBI),” Uhuru stated. “The amount they steal every day is more than Sh2 billion.”

Uhuru urged Kenyans to rally behind the BBI, saying people should look at its benefits against the cost of the referendum. 

“We forget easily…but we can all recall the events of 2017 and later 2018 and the violence that ensued. I decided to reach out to those whom were competing with because a country is bigger than an individual and I even notified those we were elected with,” said Uhuru. 

He also hit out at BBI critics, accusing them of peddling lies about the initiative and reducing it to personal war. 

“The biggest mistake is about those doing rounds saying BBI is about an individual. I never said it is about 2022,” Uhuru noted.