39 Kenyan county governments, including Nairobi and Mombasa, exceeded the legal limit for salary payments, spending over 35% of their total revenue on wages in the 2024/2025 financial year. This irregularity was highlighted by the Controller of Budget, Margaret Nyakang'o, in her recent report.

• A total of Ksh 220.64 billion was used by counties for employee compensation, representing 47% of their total expenditure.
• Only eight county governments adhered to the 35% ceiling, with Kilifi using the least at 24%.
• Nyeri County recorded the highest overspending, using 55% of its revenue (Ksh 4.51 billion) for salaries.
• The report also flagged Ksh 10.7 billion in manually processed payrolls and 16 county governments failing to requisition June 2025 salaries.