Limit use of State resources in politicians’ campaign entourage

Enforcing provisions of the Elections Offences Act as campaigns for the August elections gain momentum is proving tricky. In particular, the provisions on the use of public resources is littered with many grey areas. For example, the law states that candidates should not use public resources to advance their political agenda during campaigns. Yet the same law demands that the State provides security to all presidential candidates.

The contention is that public-funded campaign trails accord the incumbents undue advantage against their opponents. Taken at face value and in spite of the 2010 Constitution, it is easy to accuse not just President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto of misusing State resources, but also all the 47 governors.