President William Ruto has banned all State officers and government officials from attending harambees and fundraisers in the country following widespread uproar from Kenyans.
President Ruto made the announcement on Friday, July 7, while addressing the nation at State House Nairobi where he listed a number of decisions made by his government following the withdrawal of the Finance Bill 2024.
The Head of State directed Attorney General Justin Muturi to provide a legislation of public contributions following the order.
“No state officer or public servant shall participate in public contributions or any harambees going forward.
The Attorney General is hereby directed to provide legislation and provide a mechanism that for structured and transparent contributions for public charitable and philanthropic purposes,” said Ruto.
According to the President, the ban is part of the government’s efforts to improve equality, transparency and efficiency in serving the people of Kenya.
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Ruto further said that the government aims at ensuring that citizens receive maximum services for their resources from a public sector that prioritizes their welfare.
President Ruto Declares Stance on Politicians in Harambees
The Head of State made the remarks days after hosting a roundtable with a section of Kenyan media, where he admitted that the ‘harambees culture’ among politicians should be nipped in the bud.
“On matters of politics on the pulpit I am one hundred per cent aligned. We shouldn’t be using pulpits in churches to prosecute politics.
We need to change the culture of harambee. It started as a noble exercise it supported many people to go to school but I think it has stretched too far. We must stop harambees because it is breeding corruption,” said Ruto.
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This came on the backdrop of public uproar over the millions of shillings poured by politicians into these fundraising functions, whose source has been questioned severally and sometimes linked to corruption.
One of President Ruto’s close ally, Kapseret Member of Parliament (MP) Oscar Sudi, was among politicians flagged by Kenyans.
Widespread uproar from Kenyans later forced MP Sudi to announce that he would be taking a hiatus from harambees.
Sudi Breaks Silence After Uproar
The legislator Taking to X on Sunday evening stated that he was “going on leave for one year or two” and that he would not appear in public for political engagements, until when “God speaks to him”.
“Going forward, I’ll not participate in any Harambee because it has been used to malign and disparage the good course, let it be banned. Thus, the current happenings in the country call for introspection and consequently, I’m taking a sabbatical leave from public engagements,” he said.
The directive by Ruto to ban politicians from attending harambees is among a number of measures taken by the government following public uproar that arose from the withdrawal of Finance Bill.
Ruto in his speech also announced that public servants who attain the age of 60 shall be required to immediately proceed on retirement with no extension to their tenure of service whatsoever.
The purchase of new motor vehicles by government was also suspended for the next 12 months except for security agencies, among other austerity measures.
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