State House Spending Hits New Record as Billions Classified Under ‘Other Expenses’

State House spending reached a record Ksh 18.55 billion during the 2025/2026 financial year, with Ksh 6.73 billion classified under confidential-style expenses despite President William Ruto’s earlier pledge to eliminate confidential votes.

The latest budget implementation report from the Controller of Budget reveals that State House more than doubled its initial parliamentary allocation of Ksh 8.5 billion. The additional expenditure was cataloged under “other expenses,” a category typically reserved for funds that fall outside standard vote classifications.

Unapproved Spending and Emergency Funds

By December 2025, State House had consumed over 90 percent of its annual allocation. This rapid drawdown prompted the National Treasury to invoke Article 223 of the Constitution to approve extra funding, which Parliament later endorsed. The surge in spending coincided with State House hosting high-profile delegations, including an event with approximately 10,000 teachers who reportedly received Ksh 10,000 tokens each.

The Controller of Budget also highlighted unusual spending patterns in security operations across government departments:

• National Treasury: Spent Ksh 12.62 billion on emergency security operations, surpassing the core security agencies.

• National Police Service: Expended Ksh 11.39 billion on security operations.

• State Department for Internal Security: Recorded the highest total footprint at Ksh 21.53 billion.

Because security operations carry inherent confidentiality, the substantial expenditure by the Treasury has raised questions regarding transparency and the end beneficiaries of the funds.

Mounting Public Debt Concerns

Alongside direct operational spending, the Controller of Budget raised alarms regarding the country’s accelerating debt profile. Key indicators from the report show:

Domestic borrowing through short-term Treasury bills and long-term bonds grew at an accelerated rate, while international sovereign bond issuances drove foreign obligations upward.

Over a four-year trajectory, Kenya’s overall public debt expanded by 53 percent, climbing from Ksh 8.59 trillion in June 2022 to Ksh 13.12 trillion by mid-2026.

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