This archive report was first published on 7 November 2019.
Nairobi Senator Johnson Sakaja has found himself at the center of controversy after endorsing the National Treasury's bid to raise Kenya's debt ceiling to Sh9 trillion.
On November 6, 2019, the Senate nodded to the Treasury's notice aiming to amend the Public Finance Management (National Debt) (Regulation), 2019, after Parliament voted in its support the previous day.
Senator Sakaja's endorsement of the debt limit increase has sparked a heated debate on social media, with many of his admirers expressing shock and disappointment.
Some critics have described Sakaja as a hypocrite playing 'survival politics,' while others have accused him of lacking the courage to stand against the government's decision.
“If you look at the borrowing in Kenya today, 90 percent is being done by the republic. Kenya is approaching the situation that was there in Greece,” observed Sen. James Orengo (ODM Siaya), who supported the bill, saying it was required to buy the government time to get its house in order on the fiscal side.
Only seven senators opposed the motion, including Mutula Kilonzo Jr (Makueni), Moses Wetangula (Bungoma), Boniface Kabaka (Machakos), Enock Wambua (Kitui), Samson Cherargei (Nandi), Aaron Cheruiyot (Kericho), and Mithika Linturi (Embu).
Sen. Kilonzo Jr. expressed concerns that the country has a 'ferocious and uncontrollable appetite for borrowing which is not good for us,' and that the previous debt ceiling increase in 2015 has not yielded positive results.
