Kenyan county officials spent over Sh16.2 billion on domestic and foreign trips in the year ending June 30, 2025, according to a new report from the Controller of Budget, Margaret Nyakang’o.
The expenditure review highlights lavish spending by governors, Members of County Assemblies (MCAs), and other county officials on benchmarking tours, conferences, and workshops both within Kenya and abroad. Domestic travel accounted for Sh14.22 billion, while Sh2.01 billion was spent on international trips.
Within Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, and South Africa were among the preferred destinations, while international trips took officials to Dubai, Singapore, the United States, the Netherlands, France, and Japan.
The report shows that Nairobi County led spending at Sh863.3 million, followed by Machakos (Sh631.2 million), Turkana (Sh623.38 million), Tana River (Sh620.22 million), and Kitui (Sh609.17 million). Other high spenders included West Pokot (Sh539.77 million), Nakuru (Sh571.97 million), Kakamega (Sh525 million), and Meru (Sh492.29 million).
Notable expenditures included 13 Nairobi County employees travelling to Dubai for certified cybersecurity training at a cost of Sh28.43 million. Nairobi also spent Sh23.4 million sending 25 members of the Revenue Authority to Malaysia for revenue automation and tax governance training. Machakos county spent Sh9.65 million sending five officials to a livestock and food security conference in Brazil and Sh8.16 million for one official to attend a fire emergency response workshop in the UK.
Other highlighted trips included 14 MCAs attending a capacity-building tour at the East African Legislative Assembly in Arusha, Tanzania (Sh3.55 million) and six MCAs attending a leadership programme in Singapore (Sh3.29 million). West Pokot sent officials to leadership training in Dubai and Malaysia at a combined cost exceeding Sh19 million.
The report reignites debates over county extravagance despite government regulations introduced in 2023 by President William Ruto, which capped travel delegation sizes, limited travel days, and suspended benchmarking visits, trainings, and conferences.
Critics say the findings underscore persistent fiscal indiscipline and the need for stricter enforcement of travel guidelines to curb wasteful spending by county leaders.
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