Former President Uhuru Kenyatta’s Jubilee Party and Kanu, among others, face potential deregistration and a 2027 general election shutout for failing to establish physical offices in at least 24 counties as per statutory requirements, according to Auditor-General Nancy Gathungu.

The failure to comply with the Political Parties Act (PPA) is notwithstanding that the parties receive annual exchequer funding to finance their operations, which include establishing offices to manage their activities as cornerstones of the country’s democracy.

The non-compliance with the statutory requirements has been flagged by Ms Gathungu in her reports on the audited accounts of exchequer-funded political parties for the fiscal year 2024/25 tabled in Parliament.

Auditor-General Nancy Gathungu.

Photo credit: Wilfred Nyangaresi | Nation Media Group

Ms Gathungu’s findings are based on the financial statements for the year under review prepared by the parties and submitted to her office for audit.

Although the parties had claimed to have complied with the law, field visits by the auditors established the lack of requisite offices in the counties, contrary to the law, and therefore ground enough for deregistration.

Of the political parties that receive public funding, President William Ruto’s UDA, ODM, Kalonzo Musyoka’s Wiper Patriotic Front (WPF), Federal Party of Kenya (FPK) and People’s Liberation Party of former Gichugu MP Martha Karua are the few that have complied with the requirement of the law.

Section 7 (2) (f) (iii) of the Political Parties Act provides for the conditions under which a political party is considered duly registered.

“A provisionally registered political party shall be qualified to be fully registered if it has submitted to the Registrar of Political Parties the location and addresses of the branch offices, which shall be in more than half of the counties,” the law states.

Read: Man wants Jubilee Party deregistered over flaws

The country is subdivided into 47 counties, meaning that to qualify for full registration, a political party must operate offices in at least 24 counties.

As a regulator of political parties in the country, besides administering the Political Parties Fund (PPF), the Registrar of Political Parties (RPP) has the responsibility to ensure that the parties comply with the law.

On Sunday, RPP Mr John Cox Lorionokou did not respond to our inquiries sent to his known mobile number.

Registrar of Political Parties John Cox Lorionokou.

Photo credit: Dennis Onsongo | Nation Media Group

Other than Kanu and Jubilee, also flagged for not having physical presence in at least 24 counties include Ford Kenya of National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang’ula and Pamoja African Alliance (PAA) associated with Senate Speaker Amason Kingi.

There is also the Democratic Action Party (DAP) Kenya of former Saboti MP Eugene Wamalwa, Maendeleo Chap Chap (MCC) of Alfred Mutua, Movement for Democracy and Growth (MDG) of Ugenya MP David Ochieng and United Progressive Alliance (UPA) associated with Nyamira Governor Amos Nyaribo, among others.

Kanu, whose party leader is former Baringo Senator Gideon Moi, was established under Section 3 of the Political Parties Act in 1960 and has party Headquarters on the 7th floor of Prudential Building, Wabera Street, Nairobi.

“The party had established only five county offices,” Ms Gathungu says of the Kanu party.

“Although the party submitted a list indicating branch offices in 24 counties, no supporting documentary evidence was provided to verify the existence of the offices.

The party was in breach of the law,” the audit reads.

Data from the Registrar of Political Parties (RPP) shows that Kanu has relied on the Political Parties Fund (PPF) and personal contributions as sources of revenue, with Sh29.03 million for the fiscal year 2024/25 compared to Sh21.24 million for the 2023/24 period.

Jubilee Party was registered on September 9, 2016, with former president Uhuru Kenyatta as its party leader, Mr Nelson Dzuya as national chairperson, former MP Kanini Kega as Secretary-General and Kitui South MP Dr Rachael Nyamai as Treasurer. The party is headquartered at Daraja House, Nairobi.

The audit shows that contrary to the requirements of the law, Jubilee Party “had only two offices operational in Nairobi with eight offices in other counties, which had been closed.”

This is a reduction compared to previous records submitted to the Auditor-General indicating that the party had 10 operational offices in 10 counties.

The scale-down is notwithstanding that in the fiscal period 2023/24, Jubilee Party recorded Sh79.9 million in revenue compared to Sh91.01 million in the previous financial year, 2022/23, representing a decline of 12.2 percent.

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The party’s revenue included transfers from the Office of the Registrar of Political Parties (ORPP).

Generally, the funding reduced from Sh81.02 million in 2022/23 to Sh74.1 million in 2023/24, with public contributions and donations also dropping significantly from Sh9.99 million to Sh5.84 million, reflecting a 41.5 percent decrease.

Ford Kenya, with headquarters at Simba House off Ole Dume Road, Kilimani, Nairobi, has Speaker Wetang’ula as its party leader, with Mr Joel Ruhu as national chairman and Dr John Chikati as Secretary-General.

The party was first registered in September 1992 under the Societies Act.

It was again registered in August 2008 under the Political Parties Act of 2007 before complying with the requirements of the new Political Parties Act of 2011.

Records at the Office of the Auditor-General (OAG) indicate that the party operated “only one office located in Nairobi.”

“Although the party submitted a list of branch offices in 34 counties, no documentation such as lease agreements, staff list or activity was provided to verify the existence of the offices,” the audit reveals.

The failure to comply with the law was flagged by the auditors despite the party receiving Sh25.03 million from the Political Parties Fund (PPF) “based on the results of the August 2022 general election” compared to Sh13.22 million for the 2023/24 period.

The contribution included revenue from contributions by members of the National Assembly of Sh5.2 million, with the Members of the County Assembly (MCAs) contributing Sh1.2 million and Sh310,000 recorded as revenue from other sources.

Senate Speaker Amason Kingi’s Pamoja African Alliance (PAA) was registered on July 2, 2021, with a secretariat at Epic Business Centre, Links Road, Nyali, Mombasa.

The party marked its entry into Kenya's national politics during the August 2022 general election, “securing foundational representation with three parliamentary seats and 24 County Assembly seats.”

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“The party only has Mr Hassan Abdalla Albeity listed as Deputy Party Leader. The position of party leader is not indicated as per the party’s records submitted to the Auditor-General,” the audit says.

The records at the OAG show that the party has established “only eight operational offices in eight counties,” against the requirement of the law and therefore “in breach of the law.”

Nonetheless, the party received Sh5.9 million in the 2024/25 financial year compared to the Sh5.8 million received in the previous year.

Mr Eugene Wamalwa’s DAP Kenya was registered under the Political Parties Act on May 17, 2021, with Dr Eseli Simiyu as Secretary-General and Mr David Muchele as chairperson.

According to the Auditor-General, “during the year under review, the party operated only one office located in Nairobi.”

Although the party submitted a list indicating branch offices in 24 counties, no other supporting documentation, such as lease agreements, staff lists, or activity reports, was provided to verify the existence of the offices,” the audit reads.

The revenues recorded included Sh30.62 million for the fiscal year 2024/25 compared to Sh16.2 million for the 2023/24 period and Sh18.94 million for the 2022/23 financial year.

The MCC party of Dr Mutua was registered on September 22, 2016, with Mr Wilfred Nyamu as Secretary-General and Mahat Rashid as deputy vice chairperson and has headquarters on Riara Road, House No. 12, Kilimani, Nairobi.

Details show that the party operated “only four county offices.”

The party had submitted to the auditors a list indicating branch offices in 24 counties, but there was no documentary evidence like lease agreements or party activity reports “to verify the existence of these offices.”

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