State House expenditure hit a record KSh18.55 billion in the 2025/2026 financial year, more than double its original allocation, with KSh6.73 billion classified under “other expenses.”
According to a Controller of Budget report on budget implementation for the year ended June 2026, State House had initially been allocated KSh8.5 billion in the financial year that began in July 2025.
However, total expenditure rose to KSh18.55 billion by the end of June 2026, representing an increase of more than KSh10 billion over the original allocation.
Of the total expenditure, KSh6.73 billion was recorded under “other expenses”, a category covering expenditure that could not be classified under ordinary budget votes.
The classification has raised questions about spending at State House, particularly because President William Ruto had previously announced the abolition of the confidential vote.
State House gets additional funding
State House had already spent more than 90 per cent of its annual allocation by December 2025, prompting the National Treasury to authorise additional expenditure under Article 223 of the Constitution.
The additional expenditure was subsequently approved by Parliament.
During the period, State House hosted several delegations and events, including a gathering attended by about 10,000 teachers, who were reportedly given KSh10,000 each as tokens.
Treasury spends more on emergency security operations
The Controller of Budget report also reveals that the National Treasury spent more on emergency security operations than the National Police Service during the financial year.
Treasury expenditure on emergency security operations stood at KSh12.62 billion, compared with KSh11.39 billion spent by the National Police Service.
The State Department for Internal Security and National Administration recorded the highest expenditure under the category at KSh21.53 billion.
Since security operations are ordinarily confidential in nature, the additional expenditure has raised questions about how the funds were utilised and who benefited from them.
Kenya’s public debt rises to KSh13 trillion
The Controller of Budget also raised concern over Kenya’s rapidly increasing public debt.
The country’s public debt stock rose from KSh11.80 trillion in June 2025 to KSh13.01 trillion in June 2026, representing an increase of about 10 per cent in one year.
The report puts public debt at approximately 74 per cent of GDP, above the statutory threshold of 55 per cent.
Domestic borrowing has also continued to increase, with domestic debt accounting for approximately 56 per cent of Kenya’s total public debt.
The increase has been attributed to greater borrowing through Treasury bills and bonds, while external debt also increased following the issuance of new international sovereign bonds.
Debt servicing costs increase
The rising debt stock has translated into higher debt-servicing costs for the government.
Kenya spent KSh1.77 trillion servicing its public debt during the 2025/2026 financial year, up from KSh1.59 trillion the previous year.
Over a four-year period, Kenya’s public debt increased from KSh8.59 trillion in June 2022 to KSh13.12 trillion in June 2026, representing an increase of approximately 53 per cent.
The figures highlight the growing pressure on the national budget as the government continues to meet debt obligations while financing its programmes and operations.
