With this year being an election year, both here and in the US, the local bars and rumour mills are rife with big numbers being bandied as to what the candidates will be spending. Unfortunately, unlike in the US, where the candidates are expected to declare what their campaign sources and figures are, in Kenya, only the candidates and their closest aides and partners know how much is actually spent.

So, just how much did Obama spend to become president in 2008? According to this article by Forbes, $730 Million (KES 62 Billion). To put that into context, what Obama spent to become president would have paid for free primary education (FPE) in Kenya for 7 years with a few billion left over to actually build the schools. He's expected to spend over $1 Billion (KES 85 Billion)  this year for his re-election campaign. That's 10 years of FPE.

John McCain, Obama's '08 opponent spent $333 Million (KES 28.5 Billion)

I wonder what kind of figures the Kenyan aspirants are stacking up for this (or might be next) year's go at the presidency.