Kenyan legislators have officially rejected a request to increase the budget for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).
The Sports Ministry had asked to raise the hosting allocation from Ksh 3.5 billion to a staggering Ksh 5 billion.
However, the National Assembly Committee on Sports and Culture dismissed the proposal, citing a lack of proper justification.
The committee’s chairperson, Dan Wanyama, stated that the Ministry’s arguments for the extra funding were simply not enough.
Wanyama pointed out that since the tournament is being co-hosted by three nations, the financial burden should be lower.
“In fact, you should be cutting down your budget,” Wanyama told ministry officials during the heated budget deliberations.
He argued that Kenya’s push for more money shouldn’t mimic countries that have hosted the entire championship alone.
The rejection comes at a sensitive time, as it emerged that Kenya has yet to pay its mandatory hosting fee.
Principal Secretary Elijah Mwangi revealed that the country is still owing the Confederation of African Football (CAF) Ksh 3.5 billion, payment made by every country to secure hosting rights for the tournement.
Uganda and Tanzania way ahead
While Kenya struggles with funds, neighbouring co-hosts Uganda and Tanzania have already complied with the payment requirements.
The Ministry had hoped the committee would help secure these funds through a supplementary budget to avoid losing hosting rights.
To justify the hike, the PS argued a benchmarking trip to Morocco showed that higher standards require a bigger budget.
Despite this, MPs remained firm, insisting that the “Pamoja Bid” should ideally ease the fiscal pressure on taxpayers.
Beyond AFCON, the committee also scrutinized other areas of the Ministry’s Ksh 25.49 billion total budget request.
Lawmakers questioned a Ksh 37 million allocation meant to facilitate the President’s county visits during cultural festivals.
MP Robert Basil labelled this a “duplication,” noting that the Office of the President already receives funding for such trips.
The Ministry later revised that specific figure down to Ksh 23.6 million following the intense pressure from the House.
While the budget hike was denied, the committee pledged to help the Ministry engage the Treasury to settle the basic hosting fee.
Kenya now faces a race against time to prove it can match its East African neighbors in preparing for the continental showpiece.
At the same time, the country faces pressure from CAF to ensure that the main stadiums for the event Kasarani and Talanda City Stadium are ready six months before the start of the tournament.
This comes as Nyayo Stadium seems to be one of those that will be left to be used by the country for several other events, with Kasarani already being shutdown for renovations.
