Africa-Press – Kenya. Former Chief Justice David Maraga has criticised President William Ruto’s proposal to establish an Infrastructure Fund, describing it as another avenue for graft within the government.
In a statement issued by his campaign secretariat on Tuesday, Maraga said the plan was the latest in what he termed a series of looting scandals that have crippled the economy and destroyed the dreams of millions of Kenyans.
He accused Ruto of attempting to use the proposed Ksh1.5 trillion fund, meant for roads and other infrastructure projects, as a cover for large-scale financial mismanagement.
Maraga claimed that the Ruto administration had developed a habit of creating grand-sounding programmes that end up becoming tools for personal enrichment by state officials.
According to the 2027 Presidential hopeful, the Infrastructure Fund proposal could further plunge the country into debt while enriching a few politically connected individuals.
Additionally, Maraga said Kenyans should reject the proposal, noting that the government’s credibility on fiscal management was already tainted by multiple unresolved graft scandals, linking the Infrastructure Fund to what he called a pattern of deceit and impunity.
At the same time, the former Chief Justice listed what he described as key graft scandals that have defined Ruto’s administration, including the Ksh111 billion Healthcare Digitisation Scandal under the Social Health Authority (SHA).
He alleged that the deal was awarded irregularly and without a competitive process, resulting in a massive loss to taxpayers.
“The Auditor General has confirmed that the contract was neither budgeted for nor planned. The award was also non-competitive. Even worse, the contract locked Kenya into a private vendor monopoly, denying our nation the freedom and flexibility to adopt better technologies in the future,” the statement read in part.
Adding that: “An additional Ksh7 billion was irregularly attached for ‘training and support’ with no disclosure as to who or what would be trained.”
He also cited the fertiliser scandal, where fake fertiliser was distributed to farmers through state agencies, causing losses estimated at Ksh12 billion.
Maraga further took issue with the management of the Hustler Fund, which he said had failed to uplift small businesses and was instead being used as a revolving campaign tool.
He claimed that no proper audit had been done to show how the money was used or recovered, adding that most borrowers were defaulting on their repayments.
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