This archive report was first published on 24 July 2019.
Henry Rotich, the former Treasury Cabinet Secretary, rose to prominence in 2013 when he was appointed to the top job at the National Treasury by President Uhuru Kenyatta.
At the time, Rotich was an unlikely candidate for the position, having previously worked behind the scenes in President Mwai Kibaki's government.
However, he had gained the admiration of President Kenyatta, who had a short stint as Finance minister, and had impressed him with his work in the macroeconomics department at the Treasury.
Rotich's surprise appointment shocked even insiders at the time, as President Kenyatta had sidestepped other senior economists to settle on him.
Before he rose to the top, Rotich was one of the most prolific civil servants, working tirelessly to put together the national budget.
He was also seen as a safe pair of hands, having no corruption baggage from his past life and not being from the privileged class.
Rotich's first test came in 2014, when he led the country to its debut Eurobond loan, a staggering Sh280 billion.
However, he struggled to explain how the money was spent, and a list of projects the debt was going into was never published.
Rotich has always had a problem with saying 'No', and insiders see him as a 'Yes Man' who is always too eager to please.
He has been remembered for running a docket that has had an insatiable appetite for debt, earning him the reputation of the master of debt.
Under his leadership, Kenya's public debt has grown from Sh1.7 trillion to Sh5.1 trillion, with an increase of Sh3.4 trillion in the last five years.
This translates to a borrowing of Sh600 billion a year or Sh50 billion a month, the fastest accumulation of debt in Kenya's history.
Rotich's predecessors were also borrowing, but at a rate that was five times more than his predecessors.
He now faces charges of conspiracy to defraud, engaging in a project without prior planning, abuse of office, wilful failure to comply with the public finance management law, and committing an offence of financial misconduct.
Since the scandal broke, Rotich has retreated from the public, missing important foreign trips.
He was released on a Sh15 million bail on Tuesday.
