CS Duale declines to reveal how KDF spent Ksh.135B, cites ‘national security’

Efforts by a Parliamentary committee to establish how the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) spent Ksh.135 billion proved futile after the Ministry of Defence declared that revealing such details equates to risk to national security.

Defence Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale refused to give a breakdown of the expenditure of how KDF spent the billions in the 2022/2023 financial year when he appeared before the National Assembly’s Committee on Defence and Foreign Relations on Tuesday.

Despite protestations by members of the MP Nelson Koech-led committee, the CS was adamant that he could only share the information to the National Security Council under the Chairmanship of the Commander-In-Chief.

According to the report laid before the committee, KDF spent Ksh.98 billion in emoluments and salaries, Ksh.28 billion for operational costs of military bases including food.

The forces also spent Ksh.1.7 billion on maintenance of major parts and equipment, Ksh.1 billion on civil aid, Ksh.1 billion on border securitization, and another Ksh.4 billion on modernization of KDF equipment.

That was as far as CS Duale was willing to go in breaking down how the money was used, with MPs demanding that the figures be unpackaged further to avoid secrecy and a possibility of embezzlement of funds.

“The information that we want, when you say modernization, we want to know what is it you bought? Are Kenyans getting value for money? We don’t want these blanket figures,” demanded Kajiado Central MP Elijah Memusi.

In a stormy session, the MPs clashed with the CS who stood his ground on the need to disclose further information on how the money was spent.

“We want to know what an allocation of 1 year has done, where has the Ksh.135 billion been used? If it’s about modernization, tell us this is the equipment we bought and at how much...is there value for money?” Posed Kinangop MP Thuku Kwenya.

One of the main issues the MPs wanted to be unpackaged further is the figure of Ksh.98 billion that was used to pay salaries and allowances, although Duale insisted that disclosing the number of army men in the country would pose a security threat.

“I can’t go further than that, its salary and allowances that we pay to our security forces that will directly effect on the national security of our country, no country wants to share the number of their forces,” Duale retorted.

“There is no Minister of Defence in Kenya who has ever disclosed the number of our army. I have never and will never disclose the number of our security personnel, the only place I can do that is in the National Security Council where the Commander-In-Chief is chairing.”