Kenya Has $35 Billion of Illegal Debt, Disbarred Politician Says

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta’s government amassed “unauthorized debt” equal to about a third of the nation’s gross domestic product, according to Jimi Wanjigi, a presidential aspirant disqualified from vying in next month’s elections.

By law, Kenyan authorities must not borrow to spend on recurring expenditure, which can only be funded through taxes. Loans and grants are to finance development projects. Kenyatta’s government used borrowed money to repay loans and for expenditure such as state salaries, which is illegal, according to Wanjigi.

About 4.1 trillion shillings ($34.5 billion) of the 6.1 trillion shillings that the National Treasury borrowed in the ...