Counties splash Sh1.5b on travel in three months, report reveals

The Controller of Budget, Margaret Nyakang’o, has revealed that 37 counties spent over Sh1.5 billion on domestic and foreign travel in the first quarter of the 2025/26 financial year.

The expenditure occurred within three months from July, when the financial year began and could have been higher if 10 additional counties had submitted their travel returns as requested by the Controller of Budget (CoB).

Nairobi, Narok, Nyandarua, Kilifi, Siaya, Garissa, Baringo, Wajir, Turkana, and Trans Nzoia counties did not submit their travel expenditures, for reasons not explained in the County Governments Budget Implementation Review Report.

Kitui County emerged as the highest spender, using Sh106.66 million for domestic travel, with Sh68.10 million spent by the County Executive and Sh38.57 million by the County Assembly. The county did not report any expenditure on foreign travel.

Kajiado County followed, spending Sh89.98 million on domestic travel—Sh46.17 million by the County Executive and Sh43.81 million by the County Assembly.

Foreign travel expenditure amounted to Sh3.49 million, entirely by the County Assembly for workshops attended in Ghana, Singapore, and Russia.

Samburu County spent Sh77.24 million on domestic travel, including Sh56.03 million by the Executive and Sh21.21 million by the County Assembly, with no foreign travel reported.

Kakamega County spent Sh75.07 million domestically, with Sh70.45 million by the Assembly and Sh4.62 million by the Executive. Foreign travel accounted for Sh12.18 million, primarily by the County Assembly for trips to Uganda and Nigeria.

Nyeri County spent Sh70.15 million on domestic travel, with Sh43.45 million by the Assembly and Sh26.7 million by the Executive. In Nandi, domestic travel expenditure was Sh66.23 million, Sh52.88 million by the Assembly and Sh13 million by the Executive.

Foreign travel in Nandi totaled Sh5.99 million, split between Sh2.72 million by the Assembly and Sh3.27 million by the Executive.

Kiambu County’s domestic travel expenditure stood at Sh56.94 million, Sh42.8 million by the Assembly and Sh14.14 million by the Executive, with no foreign trips.

Busia County spent Sh47.09 million on domestic travel and Sh3.22 million on foreign trips, while Vihiga County spent Sh45.7 million domestically and Sh10.17 million on foreign travel, almost entirely by Members of County Assembly (MCAs).

“Nyamira County Expenditure on domestic travel amounted to Sh42.83 million and comprised Sh26.77 million spent by the County Assembly and Sh16.06 million by the County Executive while County did not report Expenditure on foreign travel,” said Dr Nyakang’o.

In West Pokot, domestic travel amounted to Sh42.04 million, mostly by the Assembly, while Bomet County spent Sh38.52 million domestically and Sh17.88 million on foreign trips to Angola.

Homa Bay County spent Sh36.8 million on domestic travel, all by the Assembly, with no foreign trips reported.

Taita Taveta County recorded Sh31.65 million on domestic travel, mostly by the Assembly, with Sh210,000 spent on foreign travel by the Executive.

Migori County spent Sh31.6 million domestically, while Sh3.17 million was spent on foreign travel, entirely by the Executive for conferences in Britain and the United States.

Uasin Gishu County spent Sh31.4 million domestically, with no foreign travel, while Kisii spent Sh30.86 million entirely domestically.

Kericho County recorded Sh29.66 million on domestic travel and Sh3.26 million on foreign trips to Britain. Kwale spent Sh28 million domestically with no foreign trips.

Isiolo County expenditure on domestic travel amounted to Sh27.53 million and comprised Sh26.46 million spent by the County Assembly and Sh1.07 million by the County Executive while expenditure on foreign travel amounted to Sh5.30 million all by the County Assembly while a breakdown on foreign travel was not yet provided by the time of publishing this report.

Machakos County spent Sh22.32 million on domestic travel, exclusively by the Assembly, with Sh3.1 million on foreign trips to Tanzania, Britain, and Saudi Arabia.

Embu spent Sh22.07 million domestically, while Kisumu spent Sh21.71 million domestically and Sh3.06 million abroad for trips to Ghana, Qatar, and the US.

Bungoma County spent Sh20.04 million domestically, with foreign travel of Sh388,759 by the Assembly to Uganda. Nakuru spent Sh16.95 million domestically and Sh11.9 million on foreign trips to Tanzania, Ghana, and Rwanda. Murang’a spent Sh16.4 million domestically with no foreign travel. Kirinyaga recorded Sh15.37 million domestically and Sh510,000 on foreign travel to India.

Laikipia County spent Sh14.87 million domestically and Sh12.1 million abroad to Tanzania.

Elgeyo Marakwet spent Sh14.74 million domestically and Sh900,000 by the Executive, with no foreign travel.Officials from Tharaka Nithi County were among modest spenders on travel expenditure, using Sh14.22 million for domestic tours, Sh11.65 million by the County Assembly and Sh2.57 million by the Executive.

Mombasa County spent Sh13.14 million domestically and Sh1.95 million abroad to Ghana and the U.S., while Mandera spent Sh8.29 million domestically, with no foreign travel. Meru spent Sh2.55 million domestically, and Marsabit spent Sh800,660 on overseas trips to France and Spain by a single official in each instance.

Dr Nyakang’o’s report highlights a trend of prioritizing domestic travel over foreign trips, with a significant share of expenditures by County Assemblies.

The revelations come amid calls for counties to exercise prudence in spending public funds, especially as travel costs continue to rise.