For three years, Salim Mwangome helped keep Kilifi County officials in the air.
He booked their flights, arranged their travel and made sure they got where they needed to go. But while the county officials travelled, the man making their journeys possible was slowly sinking into debt.
Today, the county government owes him Sh16 million.
To keep the service running, Mr Mwangome says he exhausted his savings and borrowed money. Now his creditors are demanding their money, while the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) is also on his back.
“I have had horrible experiences with the county government. We are going through a lot and we need help from the Senate.
“If you speak the truth, then you will not be paid. I have all the evidence, the boarding pass, the tickets but budgets keep coming without us being paid. If you bring the documents, the procurement officers will tell you there is no allocation or provision for the debt,” Mr Mwangome told the Senate County Public Accounts Committee (CPAC).
His story is one of many that emerged as contractors and suppliers owed Sh10.7 billion by the Kilifi County government laid bare the human cost of years of unpaid bills.
For some, the debts stretch back to 2015. Businesses have been pushed into borrowing, suppliers say they have been forced to chase missing documents and contractors complain of being taxed on money they have never received.
And behind their struggles is a more troubling question of where did the money meant to pay them go.
The Controller of Budget told the Senate committee that the county government voided more than 600 transactions worth Sh3.2 billion in the last financial year.
Controller of Budget Dr Margaret Nyakang’o.
Photo credit: Wilfred Nyangaresi | Nation Media Group
The transactions, the Controller of Budget said, were used to request funds for specific suppliers and contractors, only for the money to be used to pay other people once it reached the county account.
“I am certain that their vouchers were used to request for the money but when the money landed in the county’s account, they were used for something else. Using details of supplier A to request for money but end up paying another person. It is illegal using details of supplier A but paying someone else,” the Controller of Budget said.
For the people waiting for that money, the consequences have been deeply personal.
Mr Mwangome told the committee that suppliers are often afraid to speak openly about their debts because they fear being victimised or losing any chance of eventually being paid.
He said he has all the evidence of the services he provided, including tickets and boarding passes, but is repeatedly told that documents or payment vouchers cannot be found.
Another contractor, Stephen Muriithi, is waiting for Sh4.5 million for renovating the deputy governor’s office.
“There are instances where money is deducted from us as contractors but not remitted to Kenya Revenue Authority, who are now on our neck,” he said.
On his part, supplier George Keya has become a regular visitor to the county offices moving from one desk to another in search of documents he says have mysteriously disappeared.
“We are interested to know what is causing the non-payment of our debts. Money that was meant to go to a certain place does not go there. This is fraud and I wonder why those responsible are not held to account,” he said.
Kilifi Governor Gideon Mung’aro when he appeared before the Senate County Public Accounts Committee at Bunge Tower, Nairobi on June 15, 2026.
Photo credit: Dennis Onsongo | Nation Media Group
For Renson Ngala, the Kilifi Merchants and Suppliers Association secretary-general, the wait has lasted four years. The county owes him Sh58 million.
He blamed what he described as conflicts of interest, alleging that some county officials are involved in the same businesses as the suppliers they are supposed to pay.
“The main problem is conflict of interest where some of the county officials are the ones doing the same business. So if there is any payment, they pay themselves first,” he said.
Aisha Mlanda told the committee that she is owed Sh17 million and recalled an encounter with a former chief officer after she and other women suppliers sought the governor’s intervention.
“I am owed Sh17 million and I remember one day we, as women suppliers, went to see the governor over the debts but the chief officer told us, since we have gone to the governor, then let him pay you,” she said.
Kilifi Contractors and Suppliers Association chairman Joshua Chai said suppliers have watched task force after task force verify the county’s pending bills, only for the debts to remain unpaid.
“We have had more than two task forces since Governor Mung’aro came into office but the verified pending bills are still not being paid. You wonder why have the task forces if you know you will not pay those owed,” he said.
Bamba Ward MCA Harrison Mweni who chairs the Kilifi County Assembly Public Accounts Committee, backed the suppliers’ concerns.
He said funds released to the county for specific payments were sometimes redirected to other beneficiaries.
“Money hits the account but the payment is made to different people. Sh500 million was factored in the last budget for pending bills but we don’t know who was paid. The Executive did not share the task force reports. Your coming here is a blessing to us. There is a big problem,” Mr Mweni said.
The county administration, however, says it is trying to clear the mess.
Chief Finance Officer Lores Bokoro who has been in office for less than two months said the county had set aside about Sh2 billion to begin settling the debts.
Of this, Sh522 million is for development pending bills, Sh1.3 billion for recurrent debts and Sh150 million for re-voted pending bills.
Mr Bokoro said the county had also flagged Sh2.5 billion in suspicious pending bills and hoped to reduce the outstanding debt to about Sh4 billion by the end of the current financial year.
“It is not just empty talk but we have been engaging the suppliers and contractors. We have seen our Damascus moment and we are no longer Sauls,” he said.
Senate County Public Accounts Committee chairman Moses Kajwang’ said the Senate would pursue individual officers responsible for the non-payment and diversion of funds.
“The county government is not doing you any favour to pay your debts. You went into an agreement and it is them breaching the contract by not paying what they owe you.KRA is harassing you on one hand over taxes and on the other hand, the county is also frustrating you,” Senator Kajwang’ said.
