A recent report by Controller of Budget Margaret Nyakang’o has raised concerns about the increasing debt in county governments, with eight governors failing to pay debts worth over Sh70.2 billion inherited from their predecessors. The debts, which include payments to employees, contractors, and suppliers, have remained unpaid for over three years despite county governments continuing to use large sums of money for salaries and regular expenses.
The counties most affected by the debt are Mombasa, Wajir, Nairobi, Kiambu, Embu, Machakos, Garissa, and Taita Taveta, with more than half of their debts remaining unpaid for over three years. Nairobi County, under Governor Johnson Sakaja, leads with a historical debt of Sh49 billion, followed by Kiambu with Sh3.2 billion, Mombasa with Sh2.95 billion, Wajir with Sh1.9 billion, Machakos with Sh1.39 billion, Taita Taveta with Sh1.2 billion, Embu with Sh822.3 million, and Garissa with Sh182.98 million.
The report was released as the 2027 general election approaches and shows that the debt situation in many counties has continued to worsen. Since the 2022 election, counties have accumulated new debts exceeding Sh95.4 billion. Mandera County led in new debts with Sh2.2 billion in one financial year, followed by Machakos, Kilifi, Turkana, Kiambu, and Meru.
In total, county governments had unpaid debts of Sh172.5 billion as of June 30, 2026. More than half of this amount is from Nairobi County alone, which has debts of Sh86.9 billion. The report also showed that counties used Sh369.9 billion for salaries and regular expenses in the financial year ending June 2026, while only Sh126.7 billion was allocated to development projects.
This situation has caused some counties to fail to implement important projects. A total of 128 projects worth Sh6.3 billion have stalled across the country. Nairobi leads with 57 stalled projects worth Sh2.24 billion, followed by Isiolo. Additionally, salary debts and unremitted statutory deductions are estimated to be Sh100.2 billion, with over Sh52 billion of this amount being outstanding for over three years.
The situation has raised fears that some employees may be adversely affected when they retire because their pension funds have not been remitted as required. Dr. Nyakang’o has urged county governments to prioritize paying existing debts and increase spending on development projects rather than allocating a large portion of revenue to salaries and regular expenses.
The eight governors struggling with inherited debts are those of Mombasa, Wajir, Nairobi, Kiambu, Embu, Machakos, Garissa, and Taita Taveta. The report highlights the need for county governments to manage their finances effectively to avoid similar debt situations in the future.
Key points
- Eight Kenyan governors are struggling with inherited debts of over Sh70.2 billion from their predecessors.
- The debts have remained unpaid for over three years despite county governments continuing to use large sums of money for salaries and regular expenses.
- County governments have accumulated new debts exceeding Sh95.4 billion since the 2022 election.
