Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen has declared the Homabay County Commissioner’s residence a State Lodge.
CS Murkomen declared the residence as a state lodge in a gazette notice No. 7097, dated May 12, 2026.
“It is notified for the general information of the public that the Cabinet Secretary for Interior and National Administration declares Homa Bay County Commissioner’s residence as a State Lodge as from the date of this publication,” reads the notice.
This comes a year after the facility was constructed in Homa Bay Town ahead of the 2025 Madaraka Day celebrations.
Situated next to St. Paul’s Catholic Church in Homa Bay Town, the State Lodge was built on previously underutilised government land.
The compound has a main building designated for presidential use and several auxiliary structures for staff and security personnel.
The State Lodge is secured by a perimeter wall topped with razor wire and an electric fence.
It can be accessed through multiple gates, with the main entrance linking it to the improved Homa Bay-Kendu Bay Road.
The declaration by CS Murkomen adds Homa Bay to other regions that have State Lodges in Kenya. The other lodges are in Eldoret, Sagana, Kisumu, Kakamega, Kitale, Rumuruti, Bungoma, Kilifi, Cherang’any, and Kisii.
State Lodges are different from State Houses, which are the primary official residences of the President that serve as both administrative centres and living quarters for the head of state.
In April 2025, CS Murkomen gazetted the official residences of the Bungoma and Kwale County Commissioners as fully-fledged State Lodges.
“It is notified for the general information of the public that the Cabinet Secretary for Interior and National Administration declares the Bungoma County Commissioner and Kwale County Commissioner’s official residences as State Lodges,” the notice read.
