Nairobi County is once again under the spotlight after a comprehensive audit revealed one of the most troubling financial discrepancies in its history.
Nearly Sh39.8 billion has been wiped off the county’s pending bills register without a clear explanation, leaving taxpayers demanding answers.
The revelation has cast a long shadow over Governor Johnson Sakaja’s administration, which had promised accountability and financial discipline but now faces serious credibility issues.
The Controller of Budget, Dr. Margaret Nyakang’o, disclosed that Nairobi’s supplier arrears dropped by 32.7 percent in just one year, falling from Sh121.8 billion to Sh86.8 billion by June 2025. While a reduction in debt might sound positive, the unexplained manner in which it happened raises suspicions.
At the same time, many genuine contractors are still waiting endlessly for their payments. For small businesses depending on government contracts, the delay has been disastrous, with many dragged into debt and listed by credit reference bureaus after defaulting on loans.
Nairobi’s County Executive for Finance, Charles Kerich, tried to justify part of the reduction. He pointed to the removal of inflated legal fees, the exclusion of a Sh300 million bank loan, payment of Sh1 billion in pensions, and adjustments for decades-old loans.
Yet these explanations cover only Sh4 billion, leaving more than Sh35 billion still unaccounted for. The gap is too large to ignore, and the Controller of Budget has already demanded that the county provide a full breakdown to the Auditor-General.
This scandal is not happening in isolation. Earlier this year, the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission revealed that Nairobi officials had approved payments of Sh407 million to ghost businesses between 2016 and 2022. Goods were never supplied, but money was moved out of public coffers.
The recurrence of such irregularities at City Hall shows a deep problem with governance and financial management.
Even after this suspicious reduction, Nairobi remains the most indebted county, holding Sh86.77 billion in pending bills. Worryingly, more than 71 percent of these debts, about Sh62.38 billion, have been pending for over three years. This means businesses have been left hanging for far too long while the county continues to mismanage its finances.
Some suppliers have lost property to banks, while others have been forced to shut down completely.
Dr. Nyakang’o also warned that counties across the country added Sh48.9 billion in new unpaid bills during the same period, despite receiving full Treasury disbursements.
Nairobi stands out as the biggest offender, highlighting how promises of accountability have not matched reality.
Governor Sakaja’s administration now faces growing pressure to explain how nearly Sh40 billion vanished from county records. Until a full and transparent account is given, suspicion of fake bills, fraudulent deals, and systemic corruption will continue to stain his government.
For Nairobi residents and struggling contractors, the unanswered questions are not just about numbers on paper they are about broken trust, lost livelihoods, and the continued failure of leadership at City Hall.
