Kirinyaga Governor Anne Waiguru has dismissed a newspaper headline alleging excessive travel expenditure by her administration, accusing the publication of misrepresenting figures contained in the Controller of Budget’s latest implementation report.
In a statement issued on Monday, Waiguru said the headline, which referred to a “spending spree,” wrongly attributed KSh235.37 million in domestic travel expenditure to the Kirinyaga County Executive.
The governor cited Page 289 of the Controller of Budget’s Budget Implementation Review Report for the first nine months of the 2025/26 financial year, saying the report clearly distinguishes spending by the County Executive from that of the County Assembly.
According to the report, total domestic travel expenditure stood at KSh235.37 million, comprising KSh190.50 million spent by the Kirinyaga County Assembly and KSh44.87 million incurred by the County Executive.
Waiguru maintained that the newspaper’s headline failed to reflect the distinction, creating the impression that the County Executive had spent the entire amount.
“For the record, the Controller of Budget’s May 2026 Report (Page 289) on Kirinyaga was clear that on domestic travel – KSh44.87 million was incurred by the County Executive and not KSh235.37 million as presented in your headline. Please present figures factually,” she said.
The Governor called on the media to exercise accuracy and fairness when reporting on public expenditure, noting that official oversight reports should be presented in their proper context to avoid misleading the public.
