Laikipia Governor Joshua Wakahora Irungu has petitioned the Senate to compel the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) to withdraw a directive requiring county governments to construct official residences for governors and their deputies.
Appearing before the Senate County Public Accounts Committee (CPAC) on Wednesday, January 28, 2026, Governor Irungu strongly criticised the directive, describing it as economically burdensome and morally indefensible in light of the challenges facing residents of Laikipia County.
The governor was before the committee to defend the county’s revenue and expenditure for the 2024/25 financial year when the issue arose.
Irungu faulted the SRC decision to cap the construction cost of governors’ residences at KSh50 million, arguing that the amount was unrealistic and would divert scarce resources from urgent development needs.
“There is a serious moral question here. How do I justify spending KSh50 million on a mansion when women in parts of Laikipia walk up to 20 kilometres to fetch water? How do I build a mansion when expectant mothers are still delivering in the bush?” Irungu posed.
He further warned that construction would open the door to additional costs, including guest houses, landscaping, security installations, maintenance, and domestic staff—expenses he said the county was unwilling to incur.
Governor Irungu stressed that Laikipia County has no plans to construct official residences for either the governor or deputy governor.
However, Auditor-General Nancy Gathungu flagged the issue in her audit report, noting that Laikipia County had neither constructed nor budgeted for the residences as required under an SRC circular dated May 20, 2019.
The directive instructed counties to commission official residences for governors, deputy governors, and county assembly speakers by June 30, 2022.
The auditor-general also noted that, in the absence of official residences, both the governor and deputy governor were receiving a monthly housing allowance of KSh300,000—amounting to KSh3.6 million annually—a practice she termed irregular and inconsistent with SRC guidelines.
Defending the county’s position, Irungu argued that counties should retain the autonomy to set their own development priorities based on local needs.
His remarks sparked debate among committee members, including Senators Enock Wambua and Okongo Omogeni, who questioned the continued payment of housing allowances and challenged the governor on his reluctance to comply with SRC regulations.
However, the legislators agreed that if counties were unwilling or unable to construct official residences, the SRC should reconsider or withdraw the directive entirely.
CPAC Vice Chairperson Johnes Mwaruma said the committee had resolved to refer the matter to the full Senate for debate and a final decision.
Governor Irungu also indicated that he would escalate the issue to the Council of Governors in a bid to rally counties around a unified position on the SRC requirement.
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