As plans for more renovations continue to take shape, Environment Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale announced on Sunday that the government had hired the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) to build the State House.
There was criticism around the State House’s latest redesign. The new design, which emerged weeks ago after expensive renovations under President William Ruto’s administration, elicited mixed comments from many Kenyans.
The renovations at State House were started by Duale, the immediate past cabinet secretary for defense, who clarified that because the State House is regarded as a critical security site, the government was only able to give the construction contract to KDF.
”The architect in State House and the engineers are from the Kenya Defence Forces. Of course, the State House is a security installation and the seat of the President of the republic,” Duale revealed.
Duale explained that the military was only involved in the redesign when asked why the government selected KDF for the project in spite of the high cost of the renovations and the requirement for an open tender procurement process.
He added that State House Comptroller Katoo Ole Metito has given his approval to the final design.
“The architects are KDF architects. Since he is the financial officer, the Comptroller of the State House is the one who authorizes the design.” Duale said.
A Ksh10.7 billion plan was in place to renovate state homes and state lodges throughout the nation during a 12-year period ending in June 2027, according to the office of the Controller of Budget Margaret Nyakang’o.
According to official documents, the Nairobi project was valued at Ksh1.7 billion, and as of September 2024, Ksh3.3 billion had been spent on the renovations.
During that time, Ksh775 million had already been used, indicating a 44% completion rate.
But according to the Controller of Budget’s records, no funds were spent between June 2024 and December 2024 as a result of the budget cuts the President implemented after Finance Bill 2024 was withdrawn.
Duale also downplayed Kenyans’ worries about the renovation’s cost, saying that investigative organizations will be tasked with examining the costs to guarantee responsibility.
