Members of the National Assembly have unanimously passed the Constitution of Kenya (Amendment) Bill, 2025, in a historic move aimed at anchoring three key government funds into the Constitution.
The Bill, which has triggered heated legal and political discussions, seeks to make the National Government Constituencies Development Fund (NG-CDF), the Senate Oversight Fund (SOF), and the National Government Affirmative Action Fund (NGAAF) part of the supreme law of the land.
During the Second Reading of the Bill, a total of 304 MPs voted in favour, with none voting against. When it came to the Third Reading, 298 lawmakers supported it, once again passing it unanimously.
The primary goal of the proposed constitutional changes is to offer stronger legal grounding and long-term constitutional protection to the three funds.
The NG-CDF aims to improve equal access to national government services, especially in areas like education, infrastructure, and local development at the grassroots level.
On the other hand, the Senate Oversight Fund is meant to give the Senate more capacity and resources to properly monitor the activities and finances of county governments.
The NGAAF is designed to offer more targeted support to vulnerable groups such as women, youth, and people living with disabilities.
Now that the Bill has cleared the National Assembly, it is expected to be reviewed by the Senate before it can be sent to the president for approval or rejection.
However, the Bill has not gone unchallenged. On May 2, the Katiba Institute, together with several civil society groups, filed a legal case against the National Assembly.
They opposed the plan to entrench the three funds into the Constitution, arguing that it goes against constitutional principles.
In their court petition, Katiba Institute stated that the proposed amendments are not only unnecessary but also go against the intended meaning and values of the Constitution.
They argued that there is no need to amend the Constitution to establish these funds because existing laws already provide a legal framework for their operation.
“The Bill and related processes, such as the scheduled public participation, are both redundant and violate the constitutional expectations for responsible and prudent use of public funds,” the Katiba Institute said.
They also added that certain provisions of the amendment would require approval through a national referendum. They criticized Parliament for failing to enact a referendum law for over 14 years, saying this should be done before any constitutional changes can move forward.
In their view, the proposed amendments are unnecessary because what the Bill aims to do can already be done within the current legal framework.
For example, NGAAF is already operational through the Public Finance Management Act and the NGAAF Regulations of 2016. Article 206(1)(a) of the Constitution allows for the creation of special-purpose government funds, which is the basis for NGAAF.
While the legal challenge is still pending, the High Court has already issued a partial ruling. On June 5, Justice Lawrence Mugambi ruled that Parliament may debate and forward the Amendment Bill to the Senate.
However, the judge barred any further action beyond that point, particularly the process of sending the Bill to the president for assent, until the matter is fully heard and determined in court.
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