State House budget shoots from Ksh.8.5B to Ksh.17B as officials request more funds

State House has requested Ksh.20 billion for the next financial year, starting July 1, citing the addition of four new state lodges as a major contributor to the rise in expenditure.

As of July 1, 2025, the State House budget for the 2025/2026 financial year, as approved by the National Assembly, stood at Ksh.8.58 billion. The amount has since doubled.

According to the estimates contained in Supplementary Budget 1 of the current financial year, State House was allocated an additional Ksh.8.43 billion, bringing the total allocation to Ksh.17 billion by year-end.

State House requested the first instalment of this additional budget in September 2025, after depleting its accounts for the entire financial year just three months in.

Parliamentary records indicate the increase was made “on account of salary review and enhanced operations and maintenance.”

State House Comptroller Katoo Ole Metito said, "We have not even attained what was our requirement, let alone surpassed it. Our requirement was Ksh.18 billion for the entire financial year. When we requested Ksh.18 billion, we were given Ksh.7.6 billion."

Some of the additional allocation was drawn under Article 223 of the Constitution, which allows the national government to spend funds not authorised by an appropriation act if the funds are insufficient, unbudgeted, or drawn from the contingency fund.

The Controller of Budget has repeatedly raised concerns about this method, warning that it amounts to abuse of the law when used to fund items that do not meet the threshold of emergency funding.

State House has also faced scrutiny for overspending its budget by Ksh.2.7 billion within the first seven months of the current financial year, raising questions about financial prudence and spending controls.

"You have an increase in state lodges. We had eight, and now four new ones have been built by this administration in three years—in Bungoma, Homa Bay, Kitui, and Kwale. These lodges come with operational costs, staff, and other expenses. There is even pressure as every county wants its own. National events, two of which are devolved—Madaraka and Mashujaa—now require funding for county participation," Ole Metito said.

State House is also projecting higher funding needs for the financial year starting July 1. Ole Metito added, "We had projected that by the end of the current financial year we would need Ksh.18 billion, but we will be allocated Ksh.16.4 billion. In the upcoming financial year, our projection is Ksh.20 billion, but we have been allocated Ksh.11 billion."

State House spent Ksh.12 billion in the 2024/2025 financial year, Ksh.11.3 billion in 2023/2024, and Ksh.9.1 billion in 2022/2023.

The institution has also faced legal challenges, with a petitioner moving to court to stop President William Ruto from hosting political events at State House, which may have contributed to the ballooning budget.