MPs Pass Bill to Change Constitution
On Tuesday, members of the National Assembly came together to unanimously pass the Constitution of Kenya (Amendment) Bill, 2025. This important legislation aims to solidify three essential funds within the Constitution.
The Bill has stirred up quite a bit of legal debate and controversy, as it seeks to embed the National Government Constituencies Fund (NG-CDF), the Senate Oversight Fund (SOF), and the National Government Affirmative Action Fund (NGAAF) into the country’s supreme law.
During the Second Reading, an impressive 304 MPs voted in favor of the Bill, with no one opposing it. By the time it reached the Third Reading, 298 MPs were still on board, resulting in a unanimous vote.
The main goal of this constitutional amendment is to ensure that these three funds have legal backing and constitutional protection. The NG-CDF, in particular, is aimed at promoting fair access to national government services, especially in education and infrastructure at the grassroots level.
The SOF aims to bolster the Senate’s oversight of county governments, while NGAAF is set to provide better support for vulnerable groups, such as women, youth, and individuals with disabilities.
The Bill is now on its way to the Senate for review, after which it will be sent to the president for approval or rejection.
On May 2, the Katiba Institute, along with several civil society organizations, took legal action against the National Assembly regarding its proposal to amend the Constitution by adding the three funds.
In their petition, the Katiba Institute argued that the entire Bill is unnecessary and that the funds it proposes to establish contradict both the letter and the spirit of the Constitution.
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“The Bill and any associated processes, including the scheduled public participation, are unnecessary and violate the Constitutional requirement for prudence and responsibility in public spending,” Katiba argued.
Also, Katiba argued that provisions of the Bill would need to be approved in a referendum. “Therefore, Parliament should be compelled to enact a referendum law, which it has failed to do for the past 14 years, before embarking on any constitutional amendment process,” they posited.
In their view, the lobby group argued that the amendments weren’t really needed since Otiende and Chepkonga could still sponsor the Bill legally under the current Constitution.
They pointed out that the National Government Affirmative Action Fund (NGAAF) is already being put into action through the Public Finance Management Act (National Government Affirmative Action Fund) Regulations, 2016. According to Article 206(1)(a) of the Constitution, special-purpose funds can indeed be established.
As for the legal proceedings, the case is still in court, waiting to be heard and decided. On June 5, Justice Lawrence Mugambi from the High Court ruled that while the National Assembly can discuss and send the Constitution of Kenya (Amendment) Bill, 2025 to the Senate, they can’t go any further than that stage, particularly when it comes to getting assent.
MPs Pass Bill to Change Constitution
