Ndindi Nyoro: Halt borrowing beyond Sh12 trillion

Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro speaks during a business forum on Saturday, September 6, 2025. /SCREENGRAB

Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro has urged the Kenya Kwanza administration to exercise caution on borrowing, claiming Kenya’s debt levels are becoming unsustainable.

Speaking on Saturday during a business forum in Nyeri County, Nyoro claimed that the government has been borrowing at an average of Sh1.2 trillion annually.

“I request that those who are in government, you have already borrowed Sh1.2 trillion every year. As you preside over the affairs of our country, let us avoid running our country in terms of overheating it,” he said.

“This issue of profligate borrowing must come to an end if you really care about this country.”

Nyoro, a former chairperson of the Budget Committee in the National Assembly, cited data from the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) showing that Kenya’s total debt has now crossed the Sh12.1 trillion mark.

In just three years, he noted, the country borrowed more than Sh3.5 trillion.

He cautioned that further borrowing would push Kenya into dangerous territory.

“So I would want to request all of us as the leadership, and especially those who have the opportunity to make decisions in the Executive. Let us serve our country with dedication and let us not seek to give good narratives out there when the Kenyan economy is actually being torn down,” he said.

“In three years, we have borrowed three times than Kibaki borrowed in 10 years.”

Nyoro further observed that the outstanding debt does not include the Sh175 billion and Sh45 billion acquired through the securitisation of the Fuel Levy and Talanta Bond, respectively.

“It therefore means the economy of Kenya is borrowing Sh100 billion every month, that’s Sh3.4 billion every day,” he said.

The outspoken legislator expressed concern that borrowing tends to escalate during electioneering periods, noting that Kenya’s next elections is barely two years away.

“Every time we are nearing elections, we start having something called physical expansion because maybe there’s nothing much to be seen for the last year, then in basically one year, we want everything to be seen. Therefore, what do we do? We become reckless in borrowing,” he said.

Nyoro urged leaders to shun this path, reminding them that Kenya has previously executed development projects without relying excessively on debt.

"President Kibaki did a lot of development. He borrowed only Sh1.2 trillion for 10 years." 

He warned that ignoring the call could push Kenya towards an economic crisis.