By Erestinah Jane, June 29, 2026
Embakasi East MP Babu Owino has launched a sharp attack on Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja over what he described as excessive expenditure on travel by the Nairobi City County Government, citing a Controller of Budget (CoB) report that shows the county spent Ksh1.55 billion on domestic and foreign travel within nine months.
The criticism follows the release of the Controller of Budget’s County Governments Budget Implementation Review Report, which ranked Nairobi as the highest-spending county on travel between July 2025 and March 2026.
According to the report released by Controller of Budget Margaret Nyakang’o, Nairobi City County spent Ksh1.18 billion on domestic travel during the review period, while an additional Ksh373.61 million was spent on foreign trips, bringing the total travel expenditure to Ksh1.55 billion.
The report indicates that county officials travelled to destinations including Dubai, Malaysia and the United Kingdom, with some of the visits undertaken for legislative benchmarking and official engagements.
The expenditure made Nairobi the biggest spender on travel among Kenya’s 47 county governments. Nationally, counties spent a combined Ksh13.17 billion on travel during the nine-month period, with Nairobi accounting for nearly 12 per cent of the total expenditure.
Reacting to the findings, Babu questioned the justification for spending more than Ksh1 billion on domestic travel at a time when residents continue to face numerous service delivery challenges.
“So, going to Mombasa costs billions?” the legislator posed, sarcastically questioning how local travel could consume such a significant amount of public funds.
He further criticized the Sakaja administration over Nairobi’s persistent garbage collection challenges, saying the city would only become cleaner if voters removed what he described as the “garbage” occupying the governor’s office.
Babu also used the opportunity to advance his political ambitions ahead of the 2027 General Election, reiterating his intention to contest the Nairobi governorship.
The legislator pledged that, if elected governor, he would eliminate what he termed unnecessary expenditure on luxurious retreats, seminars and excessive travel allowances, redirecting the savings towards improving essential public services.
He said the funds would instead be invested in rehabilitating roads within residential estates, equipping public hospitals with essential medical supplies, settling pending bills owed to suppliers and completing stalled development projects across the capital.
The Controller of Budget’s report also raises broader concerns about county spending priorities, noting that while counties continued to spend heavily on travel and hospitality, many struggled to finance essential services and meet financial obligations.
The report highlights that several county governments continue to face mounting pending bills owed to suppliers, while public health facilities grapple with inadequate funding and shortages of critical medical supplies.
Babu argued that the findings reinforce concerns over how public resources are being utilized, saying county governments should prioritize service delivery and development projects over recurrent administrative expenditure.
The latest exchange further intensifies the political rivalry between Babu and Sakaja as the race for Nairobi’s top seat begins to gather momentum ahead of the 2027 General Election.
Political analysts expect the management of public finances, accountability and service delivery to dominate the Nairobi gubernatorial campaign, with the Controller of Budget’s findings likely to feature prominently as candidates seek to convince voters they can better manage the capital city’s resources.
