Willis Otieno raises concerns over Kenya’s rising debt burden and revenue gap
By Nancy Marende, September 9, 2025Lawyer Willis Otieno has sounded the alarm over Kenya’s growing debt crisis, warning that the country is spending more on debt repayments than it collects in daily revenue.
According to Otieno, in 2024, Kenya generated approximately Ksh3.5 billion per day in revenue but spent about Ksh4.6 billion daily servicing debt.
In a statement on Monday night, September 8, 2025, he noted that this imbalance reflects a state of “structural insolvency”, where debt obligations are outpacing tax inflows.
“Economically, this shows we have very little fiscal space left for investment or public services,” Otieno said.
He also raised constitutional concerns, citing Article 201 of the Constitution, which requires the government to allocate resources equitably, transparently, and in the best interests of its citizens.
“ Legally, this raises a constitutional question under Article 201: can a government that mortgages all revenue to creditors still claim to be allocating resources equitably, transparently, and in the best interests of its citizens?” he posed.
Ndindi Nyoro on government borrowing
His remarks come a few days after Kiharu Member of Parliament Ndindi Nyoro criticised the government’s growing reliance on securitisation, warning that it amounts to “borrowing by another name” and risks burdening future generations.
Speaking at a business expo in Nyeri County on September 6, 2025, the legislator questioned the logic behind securitising fuel levies and road maintenance funds to borrow up to Ksh100 billion every month.
He argued that such financial manoeuvres sidestep deeper issues of fiscal mismanagement instead of addressing them directly.
“Central Bank data shows that Kenya’s public debt currently stands at over Ksh12.1 trillion. In just the past three years, the government has borrowed more than Ksh3.5 trillion, according to Treasury data,” he said.
“Kenya is now borrowing Ksh3.4 billion every single day, or Ksh140 million per hour. Simply, Ksh2.4 million per minute, both day and night, every day. Out of that, the Kenyan debt is now over Ksh12.1 trillion. This is besides the Ksh175 billion borrowed through securitisation of the Fuel Levy and the Ksh45 billion Talanta Bond.”
“And every single day, when the lights go off, every day, every single day, Kenya is borrowing Ksh3.4 billion every day.”
The MP expressed concern that new securitised bonds and deals backed by road levies are being pursued without adequate parliamentary oversight, effectively locking the country into long-term financial obligations through the back door.
He noted that the rate of borrowing is unsustainable, highlighting that Kenya has borrowed three times in three years what former President Mwai Kibaki borrowed throughout his tenure.
‘We have borrowed three times what Kibaki borrowed in ten years. That’s the money Kenya has borrowed in the last three years alone. And in that money, I have not included other debts that Kenya has now become adept at borrowing in the name of something called securitisation,” noted Nyoro.
“Let us serve our country with dedication. And let us not seek to give good narratives out there when the Kenyan economy is actually being jacked down or torn down.”