Ekuru Aukot: NIS and DCI have failed Kenyans in the war on corruption
By Aloys Michael, September 4, 2025Thirdway Alliance Party leader Ekuru Aukot has accused President William Ruto of complicity in the country’s deepening corruption crisis.
In an interview on a local TV station on Thursday, September 4, 2025, Aukot questioned the effectiveness of state institutions mandated to combat corruption, including the National Intelligence Service (NIS) and the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), calling their inaction a failure of leadership.
“The President is a consumer of raw intelligence. So what is NIS doing about this? What is DCI doing about this?” Why are people not being prosecuted? It is a failure of leadership because the same government is corrupt,” he declared.
Aukot’s comments come amid rising public concern over graft scandals involving senior government officials and questionable procurement in flagship projects such as the Social Health Authority (SHA).
He referred to recent revelations by former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, who has come forward with accusations of high-level corruption, likening it to a broken marriage where the public deserves to know the truth.
“You heard what people say, Gachagua is now spilling the beans. You are assuming this is a marriage that has broken down irretrievably. At least you need one of the spouses to tell us who the bad spouse is. And I think he’s doing a very good job in telling us how the marriage failed,” he said.
The former presidential candidate is asserting that corruption stems from the top levels of government.
“State House is a term of corruption. This institution cannot be controlled if, for example, at the very top, like they say, the fish rots from the head,” he remarked.
Aukot scoffed over the misuse of democracy as a cover for failing governance, pointing out that while some leaders in other countries deliver results with minimal resources, Kenyan leaders continue to enrich themselves at the expense of the public.
“In Kenya, we hide behind democracy, but actually, we keep on persecuting our people. That military guy in another country does not even increase his salary, drives a smaller Land Cruiser, and still does transformational things for his country. I am not advocating dictatorship, but if you are a leader, do the right thing for your country, and people will love you,” the Thirdway boss asserted.
Wastage and budgeted graft
Report reveals a wide pattern of stalled projects, missing records, and improper use of public money across several ministries and state agencies, with billions of shillings unaccounted for and critical programmes left incomplete.
The Auditor General’s latest report for the 2023/2024 financial year shows that 24 ministries and departments have failed to complete projects valued at Ksh37.92 billion.
The audit notes a trend where public officials have disregarded transparency requirements, with many failing to maintain proper records or follow legal procedures for public spending.
According to Auditor General Nancy Gathungu, a number of institutions submitted inaccurate financial statements, lacked supporting documentation, and revised their reports multiple times. Some even avoided cooperating with auditors.
“There are instances where some Accounting Officers are in breach of Section 62 of the Public Audit Act, 2015 by failing to adequately prepare for audit which is exhibited by inaccuracies in financial statements presented for audit, lack of requisite supporting documents, several revisions of financial statements and, in some cases, lack of cooperation with the auditors during the audit process,” she stated.
One of the major red flags in the report is the withdrawal of Ksh23.6 billion by various ministries and departments under Article 223 of the Constitution.