Willis Otieno tasks Ruto to explain source of church donations after raising corruption concerns
By Valerian Khakayi, August 19, 2025Prominent lawyer and Safina deputy party leader Willis Otieno has challenged President William Ruto to explain the source of the huge sums of money he donates to churches, as he raises corruption concerns among legislators.
Taking to his official X account on Tuesday, August 19, 2025, Otieno questioned how Ruto was able to finance the multi-billion-shilling church project at State House and make frequent hefty donations while at the same time calling out legislators for engaging in corruption.
“Fair question, Mr. President but where does someone get Ksh 1.2 billion to build a church on public land? Where does one get Ksh20 million every Sunday to donate to churches?” Willis Otieno questioned.
Ruto on corruption
His remarks followed Ruto’s declaration that some Members of Parliament (MPs) and Senators were undermining government programmes for personal gain.
The head of state noted that there were legitimate concerns about how resources were being spent in counties and questioned where someone could find Ksh150 million, stressing that such money belonged to the county.
“There are legitimate concerns about how resources are being spent on the counties. Let me ask, where does someone find 150 million? That is money that belongs to the county,” Ruto questioned.
Accountability
Ruto also urged the Speakers of the National Assembly and the Senate to emphasise the need for transparency and accountability among the Parliamentarians.
Speaking during the opening ceremony of the Devolution Conference in Homa Bay County on Thursday, August 14, 2025, the president singled out members of the House Oversight Committees for using sessions to extort money from guests appearing to respond to audit or budgetary queries.
“Mr. Speaker, it cannot continue to be business as usual. It is unacceptable that parliamentary committees continue to demand bribes in order to write reports or to turn a blind eye to what is happening in the national or county governments,” Ruto said.
“If we allow corruption to thrive within oversight bodies, then we undermine the very foundation of our democracy. It should not be possible for a committee of Parliament to demand payment to write reports or to look the other way.”