Freedom Opportunity Party (FOP) leader and 2027 presidential aspirant Onyango Oloo has accused county governments of using disputed pending bills to facilitate corruption and pledged to audit county finances if elected.
He said recent Senate scrutiny of Kisumu County’s pending bills had exposed what he described as systemic weaknesses in the management of public funds under the devolved system.
“It came as a surprise to many Kenyans that a county like Kisumu was unable to explain how it had accumulated pending bills amounting to KSh5.9 billion,” he said.
Oloo, a former Speaker of the Kisumu County Assembly, said concerns over pending bills first emerged during his tenure before his impeachment in 2019.
He said he had directed the county executive to compile a register detailing all pending bills, including contractors, project status and amounts owed, to allow public scrutiny and ensure only legitimate claims were settled.
He alleged that most of Kisumu’s pending bills were fraudulent, claiming that about 70 percent were fictitious and that some contracts were linked to members of the county assembly.
Speaking during a press conference in Kisumu on Thursday, Oloo did not provide evidence to support the allegations, and the Focus Paper could not independently verify the claims.
He said similar concerns existed in counties including Siaya, Migori and Homa Bay, as well as several counties in northern Kenya, arguing that the issue reflected broader governance challenges under devolution.
He also accused some county assemblies of failing to effectively oversee county executives because of alleged collusion, saying this had enabled the misuse of public resources.
He called for only verified pending bills to be paid and for suspected fraudulent claims to be investigated.
Outlining his party’s anti-corruption agenda ahead of the 2027 general election, Oloo said an FOP government would audit county finances dating back to the first governors elected under devolution and hold public officials accountable for public spending.
“There should be no expectation that past misuse of public funds will simply be forgotten,” he said. He added that those found responsible should face prosecution.
Among the reforms he proposed was a Social Audit Act that would allow citizens to verify government projects and report irregularities before payments are approved.
Oloo also criticised the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC), accusing its regional offices of failing to act on complaints from the public and questioning its effectiveness in securing convictions.
He said his party would support disbanding the agency if its performance did not improve.
He further called for investigations into the beneficial ownership of companies awarded county contracts, saying the move would help identify public officials using proxy firms to benefit from government tenders.
The EACC did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Oloo’s allegations.
Oloo’s remarks come as county governments face increased scrutiny over rising pending bills and renewed calls for stronger oversight of public spending.
On Tuesday, Kisumu Governor Anyang’ Nyong’o and senior county finance officials appeared before the Senate Public Accounts Committee to answer questions over the county’s Sh5.9 billion in pending bills, financial reporting and declining own-source revenue.
Committee chair Moses Kajwang’ questioned whether the county intended to leave the debt to the next administration and called for a clear repayment plan.
“Are you planning to hand over Sh5.9 billion debt to the next administration? What is the plan, because these responses, whatever is on paper, are just accounting speak,” Kajwang’ said.
He noted that the county’s pending bills amounted to more than 60 percent of its annual revenue of about Sh9 billion, exceeding recommended debt-to-revenue thresholds.
Senators also questioned what they described as a 108 percent increase in pending bills within a single financial year.
Kisumu Senator Tom Ojienda criticised the county’s financial records and questioned why officials responsible for preparing financial statements had not been held accountable.
Nyong’o acknowledged the concerns and said the county would review the committee’s findings.
“Once we get the report of discussions today, we will sit down and go through what has been discussed today and go to practical work on the questions that have been raised,” he said.
The governor said some of the pending bills had been inherited from previous administrations, while others stemmed from national government policies and court rulings requiring immediate payment.
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