Newly appointed Judicial Service Commission member Njeru Macharia now wants State officials to minimise their foreign trips, arguing that there is a need to regulate them.
In a tweet, Njeru, who represents the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) in the commission, said foreign trips drain public resources unnecessarily.
According to him, he only travelled out of the country thrice during his tenure as chairman of the Independent Police Oversight Authority (IPOA), where he served for six years.
"I served in IPOA for six years as chair and only travelled thrice out of jurisdiction on official duty and even then the trips were funded by the inviting agencies. The affinity for unnecessary foreign trips by public officials drains our meagre resources and should stop," he said.
In 2018, President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto reduced their foreign travel expenditures by 69 per cent, the highest ever since taking over in 2013, reports the Nation.
Data from the Controller of Budget (CoB) shows the duo reduced spending in the period from Sh322.7 million to Sh99.4 million.
Besides expenditure, Kisumu Governor Anyang' Nyong'o had previously criticised President Kenyatta's trips outside the country, arguing that they are dangerous for security reasons.
“I am surprised that the president can choose to leave the country at a time when Kenya is facing the most grievous security threats almost everywhere,” said Nyong’o in a press statement as quoted by the Nation.