Governors, county officials and Members of County Assembly (MCAs) splashed more than Sh13 billion on luxury local and international travel in nine months, a new report has revealed.
The officials enjoyed first-class travel and five-star accommodation in luxurious hotels as taxpayers struggled to access key services back home.
Controller of Budget Margaret Nyakang’o, in her latest county governments expenditure review report for the first nine months of the 2025/2026 financial year, has revealed how county executives and assemblies engaged in a spending spree, gobbling up Sh13.17 billion on domestic and overseas trips.
The report has exposed how county officials and MCAs in the devolved units splashed billions of shillings on costly foreign and local trips, with little apparent benefit to the electorate.
Controller of Budget Margaret Nyakango,
Photo credit: File | Nation Media Group
For instance, a Meru County executive official spent more than Sh1 million attending an East Africa Law Society conference in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, between November 25 and 29, 2025.
In Baringo County, a county official spent Sh450,740 in Gaborone, Botswana, for an unspecified meeting.
Five MCAs from the Bungoma County Assembly also spent Sh388,759 attending a dinner in an undisclosed foreign country.
The officials undertook costly benchmarking tours, conferences and workshops both locally and abroad, some in the name of “benchmarking”, while development projects lay abandoned and counties remained cash-strapped.
The Nation established that county executive officials, MCAs and other officials of the devolved units, including governors, spent millions in the name of benchmarking, study tours, training and workshops.
According to governance experts, the money could have equipped hundreds of health facilities, most of which have been struggling with congestion, or completed thousands of stalled projects.
The same report, for instance, showed that development projects worth Sh13 billion had stalled during the period under review.
“The Sh13.17 billion splashed on domestic and foreign travel could have been used to fund stalled projects or equip health facilities to offer better services. The amount that was blown on unnecessary travel is substantial and could have been used by counties to develop major infrastructure such as road networks and sewerage systems, among other projects,” governance expert David Ngugi told the Nation .
Some of the workshops were simply labelled “leadership” or “governance” training.
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According to the report, officials spent Sh11.4 billion on domestic travel, while Sh1.8 billion was spent on globetrotting during the nine months.
“County governments spent Sh13.17 billion on domestic and foreign travel in nine months of the 2025/2026 financial year,” reads part of the report.
The most preferred countries and cities included Singapore, New York, France, Dubai, China, Switzerland, Italy, London, Sweden, the Netherlands, Spain, the United Kingdom, the United States, Qatar, Canada, Uganda, Tanzania, South Africa and Egypt.
It is not clear why most of the officials chose to attend training sessions, meetings and workshops that could have been held in towns and cities within the country.
Nairobi County emerged as the largest spender on travel among all counties, shelling out Sh1.6 billion on local conferences, study tours and foreign trips, even as development projects lagged.
For instance, seven county officials spent Sh13.3 million in Singapore between March 10 and 14, 2026, attending an ICPAK Leadership Summit.
Earlier, in July 2025, seven county officials had flown to Sweden, where they spent Sh18.7 million participating in the World Credit Union Conference in Stockholm.
“Between September 30 and October 3, 2025, eight county officials flew to Switzerland, where they spent Sh20 million attending a finance summit,” reads the report.
Other counties that spent huge amounts on travel include Kitui, West Pokot, Meru, Kajiado, Baringo, Nakuru, Bungoma, Kiambu, Machakos, Kisumu, Samburu, Nyeri and Tana River.
Kitui County, led by Governor Julius Malombe, for instance, spent a total of Sh523.41 million on travel, including Sh482.8 million domestically and Sh40.6 million on foreign trips.
The county executive spent Sh350.39 million whereas the county assembly spent Sh131.39 million on travel.
Paid twice for same meeting
Twenty-one members of the Kitui County Assembly spent Sh8.5 million attending a training and benchmarking visit to the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) in Arusha, Tanzania, between October 20 and 24, 2025.
In separate trips to Arusha, 28 MCAs were paid Sh8.3 million to attend the same meeting on different dates.
Meru County spent Sh515 million on travel with Sh420.32 million going to domestic travel and Sh95.51 million on foreign travel to Israel, Dubai, Arusha, Singapore and Turkey.
The county assembly splashed Sh223.95 million, while the executive spent Sh196.37 million.
“A county executive official spent more than Sh1 million attending an East Africa Law Society conference in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, between November 25 and 29, 2025,” says the report.
The report reveals that West Pokot spent Sh504.3 million, Kiambu splurged Sh477.5 million, Samburu spent Sh444.53 million and Tana River spent Sh368.61 million on travel during the period.
Other high spenders were Bungoma (Sh373 million), Kajiado (Sh366.54 million), Baringo (Sh323.6 million), Kisii (Sh319 million), Nyeri (Sh317 million), Nakuru (Sh316 million) and Machakos (Sh314 million).
The least spenders on travel were Garissa (Sh72 million), Elgeyo-Marakwet (Sh77.6 million), Mandera (Sh103.9 million), Wajir (Sh112.3 million), Isiolo (Sh116.4 million), Siaya (Sh123.9 million) and Tharaka-Nithi (Sh141.5 million).
In July 2024, President William Ruto ordered budget cuts across all government units, including counties, in response to economic pressures and protests over the 2024 Finance Bill.
President Ruto emphasised the importance of fiscal discipline to ensure the country “lives within its means”.
However, the directive appears to have fallen on deaf ears.
Dr Nyakang’o has also repeatedly warned that such spending was excessive and unnecessary and diverted resources from essential infrastructure and services.
“The amount being spent on travel is excessive and largely unnecessary. Counties must prioritise development projects and ensure public funds are used responsibly,” Dr Nyakang’o said.
An analysis of county budgets during the period revealed that nearly half of the 47 counties did not meet the 30 per cent threshold required for development spending, instead diverting substantial sums to domestic and foreign travel.
Despite the hard economic times, county officials and MCAs appear to have continued with extravagant foreign trips, attending meetings and workshops in foreign cities and countries.
The CoB report also highlighted significant irregularities in pending bills and human resource records across counties, raising concerns over possible misuse of public funds.
Recurrent expenditure reached Sh259.57 billion, representing 65 per cent of the annual budget for recurrent activities.
Of this, Sh171.36 billion (52 per cent) went to employee compensation, while Sh88.22 billion (27 per cent) was spent on operations and maintenance.
During the period, county assemblies also reported Sh1.12 billion in MCAs’ sitting allowances.
