Ahmed Abdullahi: Counties face unequal scrutiny from auditor general
By Mustafa Juma, August 7, 2025Council of Governors (CoG) Chairperson Ahmed Abdullahi has raised concerns over what he termed as “unequal treatment” of county governments by oversight institutions, particularly the Office of the Auditor General.
Speaking during an interview with a local TV station on Wednesday, August 6, 2027, Governor Abdullahi acknowledged that both national and county governments face accountability challenges.
However, he insisted that counties are often subjected to stricter scrutiny, creating a perception of bias.
“There are various reports of accountability issues across both levels of government. Counties are a bureaucracy just like the national government. The auditor general’s office is important, but we feel there is different treatment for county governments,” he said.
Auditor General flags counties
Governor Abdullahi’s remarks come hours after Auditor General Nancy Gathungu flagged more than 20 counties that spent more than Ksh15 billion on legal fees, domestic travel, and subsistence.
In her report for the financial year ending June 2024, Gathungu further highlighted the counties’ over-misallocations, wastage of resources, lack of value for money in the implementation of projects, and loss of public funds, thereby negatively impacting development programmes.
This, she said, has in turn threatened economic growth and the sustainability of service delivery to citizens.
“Despite numerous reports indicating a lack of accountability and inadequate documents to support the legality and effectiveness in the use of public resources, failure to apply the requisite sanctions has resulted in some accounting officers not adequately accounting for public resources,” the report reads in part.
List of counties flagged
The counties that have been flagged with high legal fees include Nairobi County, headed by Governor Johnson Sakaja, with Ksh6.2 billion in legal fees owed to four advocates; Mombasa, whose governor is Abdullswamad Nassir, with Ksh67.5 million relating to payments of legal fees; and Nakuru, whose governor is Susan Kihika, with Ksh22.6 million paid to six legal officers.
Others are Kisumu (Governor Anyang Nyong’o), Ksh46 million; Kiambu (Kimani Wamatangi), which has court cases amounting to Ksh517.3 million; Gideon Mungaro’s Kilifi, where Ksh71.6 million was paid to six (6) private legal practitioners; and Tana River (Dhadho Gadana), which paid Ksh30.7 million, which was paid to four (4) legal firms representing the County Executive in various legal cases, while Mandera spent Ksh45.5 million on the provision of legal services.
In Mombasa, Gathungu has flagged the county over monies spent on domestic travel and substances, amounting to Ksh17 million, out of which Ksh4.1 million was spent by the Public Service Board, Ksh2.2 million was spent by the education and finance department, and Ksh10.6 million is for economic planning.