Court declines to bar Parliament from forwarding NG-CDF Bill to President
The proposed Bill seeks to entrench the NG-CDF, the Senate Oversight Fund, and the National Government Affirmative Action Fund (NGAAF) into the Constitution.
A Nairobi court has declined to stop Parliament from forwarding the Constitution of Kenya (Amendment) Bill, 2025, on the National Government Constituencies Development Fund (NG-CDF) to the President for assent.
Katiba Institute had challenged the proposed Amendment Bill, describing it as an attempt by Members of Parliament to amend the Constitution.
More To Read
- MPs seek public views as they fight to save CDF and other key funds
- MPs fight to protect CDF funds ahead of court deadline
- MPs in desperate move to save NG-CDF as law experts term attempt futile
- Citizen-led oversight exposes stalled state projects in new push for transparency
- High court faults Parliament for excluding nominated senators from oversight fund
- Mombasa senator calls for proper use of ward development funds
When the matter came up before High Court Judge Lawrence Mugambi, Katiba Institute sought conservatory orders to halt the process.
However, Justice Mugambi declined to issue the interim orders and instead directed the parties to file their submissions and appear in court on June 5 for further directions.
"There is no reason to grant interim conservatory orders at this stage since the parties are already before the court. The issue of conservatory orders can still be revived on June 5 when the court will issue further directions", Justice Mugambi said.
During the hearing of the case, Katiba Institute had argued that the Bill and its associated processes, including the scheduled public participation, are unnecessary and violate the constitutional requirement for prudent and responsible public spending.
The lobby group argued that it is "constitutionally superfluous, as the funds it seeks to establish are inconsistent with the letter and spirit of the Constitution."
However, the respondents told the court that the matter is premature, stating that the Bill had not yet been presented to the President.
They added that the Bill was still before the Senate for its first reading and not yet before the full Parliament. The respondents further argued that the petitioner had failed to consider the ripeness of the case.
The proposed Bill seeks to entrench the NG-CDF, the Senate Oversight Fund, and the National Government Affirmative Action Fund (NGAAF) into the Constitution.
This comes at a time when the Bill, which was first introduced in the National Assembly on March 12, 2025, is currently undergoing a public participation exercise across all 290 constituencies, which began earlier this month.
Top Stories Today
