Kenya is in a debt crisis. Every passing month, Kenya is sinking deeper into debts as the government engages high borrowing gears. Data from the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) now shows that in just the first 8 months of the current financial year 2025/26, President William Ruto and his government had borrowed over Sh1 trillion.
At the same time, the data shows that from September 2022 when he was inaugurated as the fifth president to February 2026, Ruto and his government borrowed Sh4.1 trillion.
The data further shows that as at the end of February 2026, the total public debt stood at a staggering Sh12.844 trillion, having risen from the previous administration’s Sh8.7 trillion mark as at September 2022.
Domestic debt stood at Sh7.01 trillion while external dent was Sh5.78 trillion. This saw the total debt coming in at 69.5 percent of the national gross domestic product (GDP).
Alarmingly, President Ruto’s government is now spending over two thirds of tax revenues in paying debt interest. For instance, in February 2026, tax revenues were recorded as Sh172 billion while the government spent Sh124 billion to pay debt interest. Out of this amount, Sh101 billion was used to pay domestic debt interest while Sh23 billion was used on external debt interest.
The amounts set aside to pay debt interest is projected to rise even further. For instance, in the next financial year 2026/27, President Ruto and his government are projecting to spend Sh1.25 trillion on debt interest. At the same time, the government is estimating that in the coming financial year, exchequer revenue shall hit Sh3 trillion.
Read More: Ruto State House budget for this year hits a shocking Sh17 billion
It is however not clear how this amount shall be achieved at a time when the government has continued to struggle to raise beyond Sh2.3 trillion in annual tax revenues.
Despite the rising debt, the government has continue on a spending spree led by the State House and the Office of the President. For example, the budget for State House for the current financial year has been revised to a staggering Sh17 billion. This is after Ruto’s State House blew away Sh10.4 billion within the first seven months of the financial year.
The amounts allocated to State House now surpass the amounts that the United States allocates to the White House and the amounts first world countries such as Germany allocated to similar top offices.
