Kenyans abroad face tough times as many embassies fall apart. Roofs leak, ceilings break, walls crack, and paint peels off buildings meant to represent Kenya internationally. According to the Auditor-General's latest report, Kenyan missions in Nigeria, France, Germany, Tanzania, and China all need serious repairs.
The embassy in Abuja deals with water coming through roofs at the main office, the High Commissioner's home, and staff housing. These problems need immediate attention. Over in Berlin, the Kenya Mission building suffers from a damaged roof, water leaks, wall cracks, and exterior ceiling damage on the first floor, plus paint falls off throughout the entire structure.
Public works officials checked out the Berlin situation and suggested repairs, but nothing happened by August 2024 when auditors visited. After the previous Head of Mission left his post, items went missing from the inventory list. Nobody explained what happened or tried to find the lost things. Furniture and belongings from the former ambassador sat poorly stored in a garage, getting more damaged each day.
Paris looks just as bad, with major cracks running from ground level to the third floor of the chancery. The basement floods regularly, the yard fills with water, ceilings leak, and wall paint peels away. The Ambassador's home in Paris also shows serious neglect with broken fixtures, damaged roof tiles, and rusted gutters because nobody performs basic maintenance.
Beijing's chancery shares space with the ambassador's residence and appears structurally sound, but it lacks security cameras inside and has no smoke detectors installed. The mission also operates without security guards protecting the premises. Next door in Tanzania, renovation work on two staff houses in Mikocheni, Dar es Salaam, stopped completely back in 2020.
Auditors noted these Tanzanian properties occupy valuable real estate yet deteriorate more each year. The partial renovations cost roughly 68,470,000 Tanzanian shillings (about 3,400,000 Kenyan shillings), but that money seems wasted since the work was never finished. The Tanzanian government gave Kenya five acres of land in Dodoma and issued a title, but Kenya never put up fencing around it.
The mission in Tanzania sold a house belonging to a Kenyan agency for 20 million shillings but never sent that money back to Kenya. The cash sits in a mission deposit account without any explanation for keeping it there. In Saudi Arabia, Kenya technically owns the chancery building and official residence in Riyadh, but paperwork problems exist.
Embassy staff only have copies of sales agreements rather than actual ownership documents. The 1996 sales agreement required sellers to register Kenya as the official owner within two years after handing over the properties. Auditors found no evidence this ever happened for units 11, 12, and 13. The building also lacks insurance coverage, violating Kenya's Public Finance Management Act.
A diplomatic vehicle disappeared from the Abuja mission in February 2022. The theft was reported, but the staff waited too long to file an insurance claim. In China, a perfectly good car sat unused for over four years, losing value every day. The vehicle exceeded China's mileage regulations, making it impossible to insure. Two cars approved for sale in Berlin remain unsold and continue falling apart.
This marks the third time someone noticed these problems. In May 2023, members of Kenya's National Assembly visited Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, declaring conditions unacceptable. The 2022/23 audit revealed Pakistan's chancery and residence cost 545.8 million shillings yet remained uninhabitable due to poor drainage, unfinished elevator work, cracked walls, and shoddy construction. Back in 2019, the Foreign Affairs Committee discovered missions in South Korea, China, Japan, Geneva, Australia, Russia, Washington DC, New York, Los Angeles, and Ottawa all needed help. Kenya's Treasury then allocated 700 million shillings for renovations.
The embassy in Abuja deals with water coming through roofs at the main office, the High Commissioner's home, and staff housing. These problems need immediate attention. Over in Berlin, the Kenya Mission building suffers from a damaged roof, water leaks, wall cracks, and exterior ceiling damage on the first floor, plus paint falls off throughout the entire structure.
Public works officials checked out the Berlin situation and suggested repairs, but nothing happened by August 2024 when auditors visited. After the previous Head of Mission left his post, items went missing from the inventory list. Nobody explained what happened or tried to find the lost things. Furniture and belongings from the former ambassador sat poorly stored in a garage, getting more damaged each day.
Paris looks just as bad, with major cracks running from ground level to the third floor of the chancery. The basement floods regularly, the yard fills with water, ceilings leak, and wall paint peels away. The Ambassador's home in Paris also shows serious neglect with broken fixtures, damaged roof tiles, and rusted gutters because nobody performs basic maintenance.
Beijing's chancery shares space with the ambassador's residence and appears structurally sound, but it lacks security cameras inside and has no smoke detectors installed. The mission also operates without security guards protecting the premises. Next door in Tanzania, renovation work on two staff houses in Mikocheni, Dar es Salaam, stopped completely back in 2020.
Auditors noted these Tanzanian properties occupy valuable real estate yet deteriorate more each year. The partial renovations cost roughly 68,470,000 Tanzanian shillings (about 3,400,000 Kenyan shillings), but that money seems wasted since the work was never finished. The Tanzanian government gave Kenya five acres of land in Dodoma and issued a title, but Kenya never put up fencing around it.
The mission in Tanzania sold a house belonging to a Kenyan agency for 20 million shillings but never sent that money back to Kenya. The cash sits in a mission deposit account without any explanation for keeping it there. In Saudi Arabia, Kenya technically owns the chancery building and official residence in Riyadh, but paperwork problems exist.
Embassy staff only have copies of sales agreements rather than actual ownership documents. The 1996 sales agreement required sellers to register Kenya as the official owner within two years after handing over the properties. Auditors found no evidence this ever happened for units 11, 12, and 13. The building also lacks insurance coverage, violating Kenya's Public Finance Management Act.
A diplomatic vehicle disappeared from the Abuja mission in February 2022. The theft was reported, but the staff waited too long to file an insurance claim. In China, a perfectly good car sat unused for over four years, losing value every day. The vehicle exceeded China's mileage regulations, making it impossible to insure. Two cars approved for sale in Berlin remain unsold and continue falling apart.
This marks the third time someone noticed these problems. In May 2023, members of Kenya's National Assembly visited Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, declaring conditions unacceptable. The 2022/23 audit revealed Pakistan's chancery and residence cost 545.8 million shillings yet remained uninhabitable due to poor drainage, unfinished elevator work, cracked walls, and shoddy construction. Back in 2019, the Foreign Affairs Committee discovered missions in South Korea, China, Japan, Geneva, Australia, Russia, Washington DC, New York, Los Angeles, and Ottawa all needed help. Kenya's Treasury then allocated 700 million shillings for renovations.
