National Parliaments: Kenya

February 2017

The Law Library of Congress, Global Legal Research Center

(202) 707-6462 (phone) • (866) 550-0442 (fax) • law@loc.gov • http://www.law.gov
This report is provided for reference purposes only. 

It does not constitute legal advice and does not represent the official 

opinion of the United States Government. The information provided 

reflects research undertaken as of the date of writing. 

It has not been updated.
The Law Library of Congress 1

National Parliaments: Kenya 

Hanibal Goitom 

Foreign Law Specialist

SUMMARY Kenya enacted a new Constitution in 2010 through which it established a system of 

government akin to a federation, with legislative authority shared between the national 

Parliament and county legislatures. At the national level, Kenya has a bicameral 

Parliament consisting of the National Assembly and the Senate. All members of 

Parliament are elected for a five-year term. 

 Under the 2010 Constitution, Kenya opted for a presidential system of government in 

order to achieve a sharper separation of powers between, and reduce the influence of, the 

executive body over the legislature. The President and his Cabinet are not members of 

Parliament. Of the 350 members of the National Assembly, 290 members of any gender 

are elected directly from single-member constituencies, forty-seven women members are 

elected directly from each county, and twelve representatives of special interests are 

nominated by parties based on the number of seats they control in the body. The sixtyeight member Senate consists of forty-seven members directly elected from each county 

and twenty members nominated by political parties in accordance with their share of seats 

in the body. In addition, the speakers of both houses are considered ex officio members. 

 The legislative process through which bills become law involves one or both houses of the 

Parliament, depending on the issue under consideration. Bills not affecting the function of 

county governments are considered only in the National Assembly. This is because the 

primary function of the Senate is to protect the interests of the county governments within 

the national government. The legislative process in both houses mainly follows five steps: 

publication of the proposed bill in the Kenya Gazette: first reading; second reading; 

referral to committee, where amendments are offered and considered; and third reading, 

including a vote. In addition to the consideration of a bill in Parliament, Kenya’s President 

plays a key role in the legislative process by signing into law (or refusing to do so) every 

piece of legislation adopted by the National Assembly or both houses. 

I. Background 

The first legislative body in Kenya, which at the time was a British colony known as the “EastAfrican Protectorate,” was created in 1907.1

 The Order in Council that established the body 

stated that 

[t]here shall be a Legislative Council in and for the Protectorate, and the said Council 

shall consist of the Governor and such persons, not being less than two at any time, as 

His Majesty may direct by any Instructions under His Majesty’s Sign Manual and Signet, 

 

1

 East Africa Order in Council, 1906, § 7 (May 15, 1907), 9(181) OFFICIAL GAZETTE OF THE EAST AFRICA AND 

UGANDA PROTECTORATES (May 15, 1907). 
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or through one of His Majesty’s Principal Secretaries of State, and all such persons shall 

hold their places in the said Council during His Majesty’s pleasure.2

The body, which was accorded limited authority to legislate on various matters “necessary for 

the peace, order, and good government of the Protectorate,” consisted of the Governor of the 

Protectorate, who was the chair of the body, and six members, including four civil servants and 

two members appointed by the Governor.3

 The members of the Council were all white; other 

races within the Protectorate (Africans, Asians, and Arabs) were legally ineligible.4

 In 1919, an 

ordinance for the election of members of the Council was enacted; however, only British 

subjects of European origin could vote or stand for office.5 Through a 1924 amendment Indians 

and Arabs were permitted to vote and stand for election for seats in the Council.6 Although over 

the ensuing years persons of Arab and Indian descent were afforded the opportunity to serve as 

members of the body, it was only in 1944 that an African person was nominated to the Council.7

 

The number of Africans in the Council continued to increase over time; in 1948, there were four 

Africans in the Council and by 1958 the number of Africans in the Council had reached sixteen.8

 

Kenya gained its independence from Britain in December 1963 and a truly representative 

legislative body was established through the 1963 Independence Constitution and the 

introduction of universal franchise.9

 Lawmaking authority under the 1963 Constitution was split 

vertically and horizontally. One of the main features of the 1963 Constitution was the creation 

of two-tier government structures, with national and regional administrative units.10 It 

established seven semi-autonomous regions with their own legislative and executive bodies.11 

The regional administrative units assumed many of the functions that previously were under the 

Provincial and District Commissioners before Kenya’s independence.12 Another important 

 

2 Id. 

3

 HUMPHREY SLADE, THE PARLIAMENT OF KENYA 11 (1967). 

4 Id.; KARUTI KANYINGA, KENYA DEMOCRACY AND POLITICAL PARTICIPATION: A REVIEW BY AFRIMAP, OPEN 

SOCIETY INITIATIVE FOR EASTERN AFRICA AND THE INSTITUTE FOR DEVELOPMENT STUDIES (IDS), UNIVERSITY OF 

NAIROBI 180 (Mar. 2014). 

5

 Legislative Council Ordinance, No. 22 of 1919, §§ 9 & 10 (July 22, 1919), 21(663) OFFICIAL GAZETTE OF THE 

EAST AFRICA PROTECTORATE (July 23, 1919). 

6

 Legislative Council (Amendment) Ordinance, No. 1 of 1924, §§ 4 & 5, 26(923) OFFICIAL GAZETTE OF THE 

COLONY AND PROTECTORATE OF KENYA (SPECIAL ISSUE) (Jan. 5, 1924). 

7

 SLADE, supra note 3, at 11–13. 

8 Id. at 14–15. 

9

 Kenya Order in Council, CONSTITUTION OF KENYA, sched. 2 (hereinafter 1963 CONSTITUTION), KENYA GAZETTE 

SUPPLEMENT No. 30 (Apr. 1963); Kenya is Granted Independence, South Africa History Online, 

http://www.sahistory.org.za/dated-event/kenya-granted-independence, archived at https://perma.cc/D5RS-FDU3. 

10 Y.P. GHAI & J.P.W.B. MCAUSLAN, PUBLIC LAW AND POLITICAL CHANGE IN KENYA 177–78 (Oxford University 

Press, 1970). 

11 1963 CONSTITUTION, ch. V. 

12 Kenya Human Rights Commission, Independence Without Freedom: The Legitimization of Repressive Laws and 

Practices in Kenya, in CONSTITUTIONAL LAW AND POLITICS IN AFRICA: A CASE STUDY OF KENYA 113, 122 

(Kivutha Kibwana ed., 1998). 
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feature was the establishment of a bicameral legislature, the Senate and the House of 

Representatives.13 The Senate, which consisted of forty-one members elected from forty 

Districts and the city of Nairobi, was created mainly to safeguard the regional governments from 

undue interference from the national government.14 Another key feature of the Constitution 

designated the President as an elected member of the legislature and provided for appointment of 

members of his cabinet from among the members of the same body, similar to the Westminster 

parliamentary system.15

The House of Representatives and the Senate shared the legislative power of the national 

government in all but one respect: while all bills required the approval of both houses, financial 

matters were exclusively reserved for the House of Representatives.16 

This constitutional structure, however, did not last long. The Kenya African National Union 

(KANU) Party, which won a landslide victory in the elections held in May 1963 leading up to 

Kenya’s independence both at the national and local level, never had the intention of actually 

relinquishing power to the semi-autonomous regional administrations.17 At the beginning, the 

central government incapacitated the regions by refusing to make available the funds they 

needed to operate, it then eventually, through successive constitutional amendments, stripped the 

regions of most of their authority and turned Kenya into a unitary state.18 A constitutional 

amendment in 1965 effectively ended the autonomy of the regional administrations as envisaged 

by the Independence Constitution.19 The regional assemblies, which enjoyed exclusive 

legislative jurisdiction in a wide range of matters in their regions, were turned into mere 

provincial assemblies that had to take their cues on legislation from the Parliament by 

delegation.20 Through a 1966 amendment to the Constitution, the Senate, which was initially 

established as a guardian of regional autonomy, was eliminated and its members were merged 

into what became a unicameral National Assembly.21

 

13 See Y.P. Ghai & J.P.W.B. McAuslan, supra note 10. 

14 1963 CONSTITUTION §§ 26 & 27; see also Kenya Human Rights Commission, supra note 12, at 122. 

15 Conrad M. Bosire, Kenya’s Budding Bicameralism and Legislative-Executive Relations, in SEPARATION OF 

POWERS IN AFRICAN CONSTITUTIONALISM 116 (2016). 

16 1963 CONSTITUTION §§ 49–51. 

17 Rainer Grote, The Republic of Kenya, Introductory Note, in CONSTITUTIONS OF COUNTRIES OF THE WORLD: THE 

REPUBLIC OF KENYA 6 (Gisbert H. Flanz ed., Oceana Publications, 2008); Kenya is Granted Independence, South 

Africa History Online, supra note 9. 

18 Id. at 22. See also P.H OKONDO, A COMMENTARY ON THE CONSTITUTION OF KENYA vi (Phoenix 

Publishers, 1995). 

19 Constitution of Kenya (Amendment) Act No. 14 of 1965, 1st sched., KENYA GAZETTE SUPPLEMENT No. 44 (Acts 

No. 5) ( June 8, 1965). 

20 Id. 

21 Constitution of Kenya (Amendment) (No. 4) Act No. 40 of 1966, KENYA GAZETTE SUPPLEMENT ACTS (Jan. 4, 

1967); Grote, supra note 17, at 7. 
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II. Current Constitutional Status and Role 

Following the violent aftermath of the 2007 election, Kenya embarked on a major reform that 

culminated in the enactment of a new Constitution in 2010 and brought profound changes to the 

country’s system of government, including the legislative body. The remainder of this report 

describes Kenya’s current legislative structure and the workings of the legislature within the new 

constitutional framework. 

The 2010 Constitution recreated Kenya’s system of devolved government, which was one of the 

pillars of the Independence Constitution, by establishing forty-seven counties with their own 

legislative (county assembly) and executive (county executive) organs, and allocated 

considerable legislative and executive powers and functions to those governments.22

Significantly, also like the Independence Constitution, the current Constitution established a 

second house within the national legislature, the Senate, whose main purpose is to “serve and 

protect the interests of the counties and their governments.”23 The Senate is a forty-seven 

member body, with each county constituting a single-member constituency.24 Further, to reduce 

the level of influence of the executive over the legislative body and avoid additional abuses of 

power by the executive, Kenya sought to create a sharper separation of powers between the 

executive and legislative bodies by adopting a presidential system of government,25 whereby 

none of the members of the executive are part of the legislative body.26 

The national legislative body shares its lawmaking power with county legislatures. The 

Constitution provides a list of areas of legislative competence of the national and county 

legislatures.27 Generally, while the national legislature is authorized to legislate on matters of 

national import (including immigration, agriculture, labor standards, transportation, and 

education), the competence of the county legislatures is limited to matters of local significance—

for instance, with regard to transportation matters, county legislatures may address issues 

concerning county roads, street lights, traffic, and parking.28 The Constitution provides for a 

mechanism for resolving any conflict between national and county laws.29

 

22 CONSTITUTION OF KENYA, 2010, §§ 6 & 176(1) (hereinafter 2010 CONSTITUTION), available on the University of 

Pretoria website, at http://www.icla.up.ac.za/images/constitutions/kenya_constitution.pdf, archived at

https://perma.cc/WT74-K5LC. 

23 Id. § 96. 

24Id. § 98. 

25 Bosire, supra note 15, at 117 & 122; Adams Oloo, From A Hybrid System to a Pure Presidential System: Between 

Theory and Practice (Apr. 9, 2013), available on the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung Kenya Office website, at 

http://www.fes-kenya.org/media/publications/From%20a%20Hybrid%20System%20To%20a%20Pure% 

20Presidential%20System%20-%20Dr.%20Adams%20Oloo.pdf, archived at https://perma.cc/5C8W-9WDW. 

26 2010 CONSTITUTION §§ 131(3) & 152(3); Bosire, supra note 15, at 122. 

27 2010 CONSTITUTION, 4th sched. 

28 Id., pt. 2, 4th sched. 

29 Id. § 191. 
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In addition to its legislative function, the National Assembly is designed to act as a check on the 

executive branch. A key part of this function is exercised through the power of the purse; the 

body, among others, “appropriates funds for expenditure by the national government and other 

national state organs” and “exercises oversight over national revenue and its expenditure.”30 In 

addition, the National Assembly reviews the conduct of the president and other high ranking 

executive officials and initiates the impeachment process.31 Further, it “approves declarations of 

war and extensions of states of emergency.”32 

While the horizontal and vertical distribution of the legislative authority in Kenya resembles that 

of the United States, it is important to note that there are various, substantial differences. For 

instance, unlike in the United States, the role of the Kenyan Senate is limited; it can only be 

involved in the adoption of legislation that has ramifications for county governments, and its 

oversight function with regard to the executive branch is limited to voting on proposals to 

impeach the President or a Deputy-President initiated in the National Assembly, which is, as 

noted above, a body that has broad oversight powers over executive organs.33 In addition, also 

as noted above, the power to declare war and extend states of emergency is exclusively reserved 

to the National Assembly.34 Also, unlike the United States where the Senate provides advice and 

consent for presidential appointments to key executive and judicial posts, in Kenya, this role is 

reserved for the National Assembly.35 Further, the Kenyan President and his Deputy have no 

substantive or ceremonial link to the legislature.36 

 

III. Structure and Composition 

A. Seat of Parliament 

While Kenya’s past national legislatures were sequestered in Nairobi, the nation’s capital, this 

practice ended with the enactment of the 2010 Constitution.37 The Constitution provides that a 

“sitting of either House may be held at any place within Kenya and may commence at any time 

that the House appoints.”38 The Constitution further states that, after every general election, the 

President must issue a notice announcing the place and date for the first sitting of parliament.39 

According to one commentator, the purpose of this language in the Constitution is “to enhance 

 

30 Id. § 95. 

31 Id. 

32 Id. 

33 Id. §§ 95& 96. 

34 Id. § 95. 

35 Id. §§ 132 & 166. 

36 Id. §§ 131 & 147. 

37 P.L.O. LUMUMBA & LUIS FRANCESCHI, THE CONSTITUTION OF KENYA, 2010: AN INTRODUCTORY COMMENTARY

413 (2014). 

38 2010 CONSTITUTION § 126. 

39 Id. 
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the image of the Legislature not as a den of the elites but as a truly representative Assembly.”40 

The commentator further notes that “[w]ith this development, it is hoped that the disappointed 

cries of many in the rural areas who soon after the dust of the electioneering period had settled 

would remark ‘There our MP goes to Nairobi. We will see him in five years’ time’; will be a 

thing of the past.”41

B. National Assembly and Senate Membership 

The National Assembly is comprised of 290 members elected from single-member 

constituencies; forty-seven women representatives elected from the forty-seven counties, each 

constituting a single member constituency; and twelve special-interest representatives nominated 

by political parties in accordance with the proportion of their seats in the National Assembly.42 

In addition, the Speaker of the National Assembly is an ex officio member of the body.43

The Senate is composed of forty-seven members directly elected from each county; sixteen 

women nominated by the political parties in the Senate on the basis of the proportion of the seats 

they control; two representatives of the youth (a man and a woman); two representatives of 

persons with disabilities (also a man and a woman); and the Speaker of the Senate who, like his 

National Assembly counterpart, is also an ex officio member.44

Elections for members of Parliament are held on the second Tuesday in August every five years. 

The term of each house of Parliament expires on the date of the next election.45

C. Political Parties 

In 2013, the year the last national elections were held, there were around sixty registered political 

parties in Kenya.46 Following the most recent general elections, which were held in 2013, seats 

in Parliament were divided among seventeen parties, as follows: 

 

40 LUMUMBA & FRANCESCHI, supra note 37, at 413. 

41 Id. 

42 2010 CONSTITUTION § 97. 

43 Id. §§ 97 & 106. 

44 Id. 

45 Id. §§ 101–102. 

46 Registered Political Parties 2013, INDEPENDENT ELECTORAL AND BOUNDARIES COMMISSION (IEBC), 

http://www.iebc.or.ke/index.php/downloads/item/political-party-membership-pdf (last updated Oct 13, 2014), 

archived at https://perma.cc/JW2Z-M3GE; General Elections, IEBC, http://www.iebc.or.ke/index.php/2015-01-15-

11-10-10/general-elections (last visited Dec. 21, 2016), archived at https://perma.cc/U3XR-77NM. 
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Table: Parties Represented in Parliament Following the 2012 Election 

Party National Assembly Senate 

Orange Democratic Alliance (ODM) 78 11 

The National Alliance (TNA) 72 11 

United Republican Party (URP) 62 9 

Wiper Democratic Movement-Kenya (WDM-K) 19 4 

United Democratic Forum Party (UDFP) 11 2 

Forum for Restoration of Democracy-Kenya (FORD-K) 10 4 

Kenya African National Union (KANU) 6 2 

Alliance Party of Kenya (APK) 5 2 

New Ford Kenya (NFK) 4 1 

Party of Independent Candidate of Kenya (PICK) 4 1 

Federal Party of Kenya (FPK) 3 

National Rainbow Coalition (CARC) 3 

Ford-People (FP) 3 

Kenya National Congress (KNC) 2 

Chama Cha Uzalendo (CCU) 2 

The Independent Party (TIP) 1 

Kenya African Democratic Union-Asili (KA-DU-A) 1 

Source: Data from INSTITUTE FOR EDUCATION IN DEMOCRACY, FROM LAW TO PRACTICE: A REPORT ON THE 

ASSESSMENT OF POLITICAL PARTIES’ ADHERENCE TO THE LAW IN KENYA 44 (2015). 

D. Role of the Speakers of the National Assembly and the Senate 

As noted above, speakers of both houses of the Kenyan Parliament are ex officio members of the 

bodies. They are elected by each house according to their standing orders “from among persons 

who are qualified to be elected as members of Parliament but are not such members.”47 The 

Speaker of each house of Parliament chairs “any sitting of the House of Parliament.”48 Speakers 

 

47 2010 CONSTITUTION § 106. 

48 Id. § 107. 
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of both houses are assisted by a Deputy Speaker who is elected from among the members of each 

house.49 The Speaker of the National Assembly, assisted by the Speaker of the Senate, presides 

over joint sessions of Parliament.50

The Speaker of either House has no vote on any question proposed for a decision and may not be 

counted as a member of the respective House for determining the number of members of 

Parliament for any purpose of voting.51

The Speaker of the National Assembly is second in the line of presidential succession following 

the Deputy President.52 However, unlike the Deputy President who, in the event of a vacancy in 

the office of the President, would assume the presidency and serve the rest of the term, the 

Speaker can serve for a maximum of sixty days until an election is held to fill the vacancy.53 

The speakers of both houses decide on any procedural questions not expressly provided for in the 

standing orders of the houses or other relevant rules.54

E. Other Parliamentary Officers 

In the National Assembly, the political leadership positions are held by the leader of the majority 

party (the person who is the leader of the largest party or coalition of parties) and the leader of 

the minority party (the person who is the leader of the second largest party or coalition of 

parties).55 The leaders of the majority and minority parties designate majority and 

minority whips.56 

In the Senate, the political leadership consists of the Senate Majority Leader, the Senate Deputy 

Majority Leader, the Senate Majority Whip, and the Senate Deputy Majority Whip, all of whom 

are elected from among the members of the majority party (the largest party or coalition of 

parties in the Senate).57 The leadership also includes a Senate Minority Leader, Deputy Senate 

Minority Leader, Senate Minority Whip, and Deputy Senate Minority Whip, all of whom are 

elected from among the members of the minority party (the second largest party or coalition of 

parties in the body).58

 

49 Id. § 106. 

50 Id. 

51 Id. § 122. 

52 Id. § 146. 

53 Id. 

54 Senate Standing Orders § 1 (Jan. 9, 2013), http://www.parliament.go.ke/the-senate/standing-orders/item/downloa 

d/1554_4dfc7c0f14e207f631b826aa0b85ddd1, archived at https://perma.cc/X3W8-X4FF; National Assembly 

Standing Orders § 1 (Jan. 9, 2013), http://www.parliament.go.ke/the-national-assembly/standingorders/item/download/40_222b 24e2cb9a8077f8de3f3d6eb5fb5d, archived at https://perma.cc/RMU8-D979. 

55 2010 CONSTITUTION § 108; National Assembly Standing Orders § 19. 

56 National Assembly Standing Orders § 2. 

57 Senate Standing Orders § 19. 

58 Id. § 20. 
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The Parliamentary Service Commission, a constitutional body whose functions include the 

“efficient and effective functioning of Parliament,” appoints a Clerk and a Senior Deputy Clerk 

for both the National Assembly and the Senate.59 The clerk in each house is the “administrative 

and procedural head” of the body and manages its daily operations and activities.60 The 

functions of the clerk also include advising the body on all “Parliamentary procedures, practices 

and conventions.”61

Other officers of the Kenyan Parliament include the Senate and National Assembly Sergeant-atArms, whose functions include performing “chamber and ceremonial duties,” maintenance of 

decorum, and providing protective security for persons and property, and the Hansard Editor of 

the National Assembly and Senate, whose functions include producing official records of 

both houses.62

F. Parliamentary Committees 

The Constitution provides that the National Assembly and the Senate may establish committees 

and make rules for the orderly conduct of their proceedings.63 In addition, for the purposes of 

carrying out functions over which they share jurisdiction, the Constitution permits the National 

Assembly and the Senate to form joint committees and to jointly regulate the procedure of such 

committees.64 

The National Assembly and the Senate have each established three types of committees: 

departmental committees, standing committees, and housekeeping committees.65 The 

composition of the committees mirrors the number of seats that the parties in each house 

control.66 Committees in both houses enjoy subpoena powers and set their own agenda. While 

any lawmaker is permitted to participate in committee meetings, only committee members can 

 

59 2010 CONSTITUTION §§ 127 & 128. 

60 Offices of the National Assembly, PARLIAMENT OF KENYA: THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY, http://www.parliament. 

go.ke/the-national-assembly/leadership/management-and-directorates (last visited Dec. 21, 2016), archived at

https://perma.cc/FNJ5-4J42; Management and Directorates, PARLIAMENT OF KENYA: THE SENATE, 

http://www.parliament.go.ke/the-senate/management-and-directorates (last visited Dec. 21, 2016), archived at

https://perma.cc/K42D-5EML. 

61 Offices of the National Assembly, supra note 59; Management and Directorates, supra note 59. 

62 Offices of the National Assembly, supra note 59; Management and Directorates, supra note 59. 

63 2010 CONSTITUTION § 124. 

64 Id.; LUMUMBA & FRANCESCHI, supra note 34, at 410. 

65 National Assembly Committees: Mandate and Classification, PARLIAMENT OF KENYA, http://www.parliament. 

go.ke/the-national-assembly/committees (last visited Dec. 22, 2016), archived at https://perma.cc/KH5T-B5DD; 

Senate Committees: Mandate and Classification, PARLIAMENT OF KENYA, http://www.parliament.go.ke/thesenate/committees/mandate-and-classification (last visited Dec. 22, 2016), archived at https://perma.cc/S8SX9CZQ. 

66 KANYINGA, supra note 4, at 198. 
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participate in committee decision making.67 Committee meetings are held in public, and hearing 

schedules are publicized in advance.68

 

As noted above, the National Assembly and the Senate have also formed joint committees to deal 

with matters over which they share jurisdiction. These are the Joint Committee on National 

Cohesion and Equal Opportunity, whose role includes the monitoring and promoting of 

“measures relating to policy and program initiatives in pursuit of peace and national cohesion,” 

and the Joint Committee on Parliamentary Broadcasting and Library, whose mandate includes 

advising Parliament on issues regarding “public participation in Parliament.”69 

IV. Elections 

As noted above, not all members of the Kenyan Parliament are directly elected by the Kenyan 

electorate. Of the 350 seats in the National Assembly, 290 are filled with members directly 

elected by voters of single-member constituencies, whereas 47 seats are reserved for women 

members who are also directly elected from each of the 47 counties, each county constituting a 

single constituency.70 In the Senate, 47 of the 68 seats are filled with members directly elected 

by voters in the counties, each county constituting a single-member constituency.71 

According to the Constitution, a general election to select members of the National Assembly 

and the Senate is conducted every five years, on the same day as the elections for President, 

county governors, and members of county assemblies.72 If there is a vacancy in either of the 

houses and the next general election is not scheduled to take place within the next three months 

of the vacancy, a by-election may be held to fill the seat.73 

A person vying for a seat in the National Assembly or the Senate may seek such office as a 

nominee of a political party or as an independent candidate.74 To qualify to stand for an election 

for a seat as an independent candidate, a person must have the support of at least one thousand 

registered voters in the constituency if the person is interested in a seat in the National Assembly 

seat and the support of two thousand registered voters of a county for a seat in the Senate.75 

 

67 Id.; Senate Standing Orders § 195; National Assembly Standing Orders § 191. 

68 KANYINGA, supra note 4, at 198. 

69 National Assembly Committees: Mandate and Classification, supra note 64; Senate Committees: Mandate and 

Classification, supra note 64. 

70 2010 CONSTITUTION § 97. 

71 Id. § 98. 

72 Id. § 101; General Elections, IEBC, http://www.iebc.or.ke/index.php/2015-01-15-11-10-10/general-elections (last 

visited Dec. 22, 2016), archived at https://perma.cc/3QPD-49GP. 

73 2010 CONSTITUTION § 101. 

74 Id. § 99. 

75 Id. 
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Parliamentary elections are decided by a simple majority of the votes cast in the election within 

the relevant constituency.76

The electorate in a county or constituency may recall a member of Parliament before the 

expiration of his/her term under certain circumstances.77 This may occur if the member, after 

having been afforded due process, is found to have violated Chapter 6 (on leadership and 

integrity) of the Kenyan Constitution or to have mismanaged public resources, or is convicted of 

violating the election laws.78 

In the 2013 general elections, around 86% of the 14,352,533 registered voters are said to have 

voted.79 The Jubilee Alliance (a coalition in which the majority players are the TNA and URP), 

led by Uhuru Kenyatta, the incumbent President of Kenya, won 6,173,433 of the popular vote 

(50.07%), followed by the Coalition for Reform and Democracy (CORD) (mainly including 

ODM and WDM-K), which took 5,340,546 votes (43.31%).80 

V. Legislative Process 

A. General 

Under the Constitution, the Kenyan Parliament exercises its legislative authority by passing 

bills.81 While any bill may originate in the National Assembly, bills not concerning county 

governments may only be considered by the National Assembly.82 A bill affecting county 

governments may originate in the National Assembly or the Senate.83 While a bill may be 

introduced by any member or committee of the relevant house, what are known as “money bills” 

may only be introduced in the National Assembly according to a specific process (see Part 

V(D), below).84 

 

76 URAIA TRUST & INTERNATIONAL REPUBLICAN INSTITUTE, THE CITIZEN HANDBOOK: EMPOWERING CITIZENS 

THROUGH CIVIC EDUCATION 44 (2012). 

77 2010 CONSTITUTION § 104; Elections Act 24 of 2011, § 45 (Dec. 2, 2011), available on the Kenya Law website, at 

http://kenyalaw.org/lex//actview.xql?actid=No.%2024%20of%202011, archived at https://perma.cc/FKZ4-U3XJ. 

78 Elections Act § 45. 

79 THE CARTER CENTER, OBSERVING KENYA’S MARCH 2013 NATIONAL ELECTIONS: FINAL REPORT 5 (Oct. 16, 

2013), https://www.cartercenter.org/resources/pdfs/news/peace_publications/election_reports/kenya-final101613.pdf, archived at https://perma.cc/HPF4-HSE9; Election Results, IEBC, http://www.iebc.or.ke/index. 

php/election-results (last visited Jan. 10, 2017), archived at https://perma.cc/BGX2-BMN6. 

80 THE CARTER CENTER, supra note 78, at 5; EUROPEAN UNION, ELECTION OBSERVATION MISSION TO KENYA:

GENERAL ELECTIONS 2013 FINAL REPORT 5 (May 29, 2013), http://www.eods.eu/library/FR%20KENYA%2029. 

05.2013_en.pdf, archived at https://perma.cc/SBA5-D56F; Election Results, supra note 78. 

81 2010 CONSTITUTION § 109. 

82 Id. 

83 Id. 

84 Id. 
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B. Bills Concerning County Government 

Bills concerning county government include bills that affect the functions and powers of county 

governments, have implications for the election of members of county governments, and impact 

the finances of county government.85 These types of bills are further divided into what are 

known as ordinary and special bills. A special bill is one that relates to the election of members 

of county governments or annual revenue allocations to counties, whereas an ordinary bill is any 

other bill not considered a special bill.86 Before either house takes up a bill, the Constitution 

requires that the speakers of the National Assembly and the Senate determine whether the bill is 

one that affects counties, and if so, whether it is an ordinary or special bill.87

1. Ordinary Bills 

If one of the houses passes an ordinary bill and the second house rejects it, the bill must be 

referred to the Mediation Committee (see Part V(C), below).88 If the bill is passed by the second 

house with any amendment, it must be referred back to the originating house for reconsideration; 

however, if the originating house rejects the bill as amended, it must be referred back to the 

Mediation Committee.89

2. Special Bills 

The process involving special bills is different in one key respect: if the National Assembly 

wishes to change or reject a special bill passed in the Senate, it needs the support of at least twothirds of its members.90

C. Mediation Committee 

The Mediation Committee was formed to reconcile bills referred to mediation under any of the 

above-described scenarios. Consisting of an equal number of members from the National 

Assembly and the Senate appointed by the Speaker of each house, the Mediation Committee’s 

job is to reconcile two versions of the same bill. Upon completion of this process it sends a final 

version to both houses for an up-or-down vote.91 If the Committee is unable to agree on a 

version or the version it proposes is rejected by either house, the bill fails.92

 

85 Id. § 110. 

86 Id. 

87 Id. 

88 Id. § 112. 

89 Id. 

90 Id. § 111. 

91 Id. § 113. 

92 Id. 
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D. Money Bills 

 

The Constitution defines a “money bill” as a bill (excluding bills that relate to the annual division 

and allocation of revenue between the national and county governments) that includes provisions 

dealing with any of the following: 

(a) taxes; 

(b) the imposition of charges on a public fund or the variation or repeal of any of 

those charges; 

(c) the appropriation, receipt, custody, investment or issue of public money; 

(d) the raising or guaranteeing of any loan or its repayment; or 

(e) matters incidental to any of those matters.93

If the Speaker of the National Assembly is of the opinion that a particular proposal falls under 

the definition of a money bill, the body can proceed with its consideration of the proposal only 

“in accordance with the recommendation of the relevant committee of the Assembly after taking 

into account the views of the Cabinet Secretary responsible for finance.”94

 

E. Presidential Assent and Referral 

The Kenyan President plays a key role in the legislative process because all bills require his 

approval before they can take effect. Once a bill is passed by the appropriate body in Parliament, 

it is sent to the President’s desk for his assent; the President has fourteen days to either sign it 

into law or refer it back to Parliament for reconsideration.95 If the President returns the bill to 

Parliament, the relevant house can either incorporate the changes suggested by the President and 

send it back to him for his signature or, as in the US, override the President’s reservations by 

passing the bill again with the support of at least two-thirds of the members of the relevant 

house.96 If the President does not sign or return the bill to Parliament within fourteen days of 

receiving it, the bill is automatically enacted.97

F. Procedure 

The life of a bill from the time it is proposed until it is adopted by the relevant legislative body is 

long and complicated. The following steps reflect an abbreviated version of the process: 

 

93 Id. § 114. The terms “tax,” “public money,” and “loan” do not cover taxes, public money, or loans raised by 

county governments. Id. 

94 Id. 

95 Id. § 115. 

96 Id. 

97 Id. 
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 Publication: The bill is published in the Kenya Gazette to attract public attention and 

encourage participation.98

 First Reading: The bill is referred to the relevant committee.99

 Second Reading: Members discuss the bill and the position of the “mover” (sponsor) as well 

as the report of the relevant committee. No specific amendments are allowed at this stage 

except for proposals to defer the second reading.100

 Committee of the Whole House: This is the stage at which amendments are proposed and 

voted on.101 

 Third Reading: Members conduct further debate on the contents of the bill. While no 

specific amendments are permitted at this stage, proposing a deferral of the third reading is 

permitted.102 If the bill is voted on and receives the necessary support, it is considered passed 

in the relevant body where it is considered.103

As noted above, depending on the type of bill, it may be sent to the other house of Parliament for 

concurrence or to the President for his assent. Once the President signs the bill into law, it must 

then be published in the Kenya Gazette as an Act of Parliament within seven days.104

VI. Contemporary Issues 

In 2016, the Kenyan Parliament considered various proposals. For the year, fourteen bills were 

proposed in the Senate, including the County Statistics Bill, the County Boundaries Bill, and the 

County Allocation of Revenue Bill.105 Thirty-three bills were proposed in the National 

Assembly; these included the Anti-Doping Bill, the Value Added Tax (Amendment) Bill, the 

Witness Protection (Amendment) Bill, and the Refugees Bill.106 

 

98 KENYA LAW REFORM COMMISSION, A GUIDE TO THE LEGISLATIVE PROCESS IN KENYA 69 (2015), 

http://www.klrc.go.ke/images/images/downloads/klrc-a-guide-to-the-legislative-process-in-kenya.pdf, archived at 

https://perma.cc/3APD-AFWU. 

99 Id. 

100 Id. 

101 Id. 

102 Id. 

103 Id. at 68. 

104 2010 CONSTITUTION § 116. 

105 Senate Bills 2016, KENYA LAW, http://kenyalaw.org/kl/index.php?id=5990 (last visited Dec. 27, 2016), archived 

at https://perma.cc/S5AY-VKPN. 

106 National Assembly Bills 2016, KENYA LAW, http://kenyalaw.org/kl/index.php?id=5991 (last visited Dec. 27, 

2016), archived at https://perma.cc/5TBZ-LD69. 
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Twenty-four bills appear to have been enacted in 2016.107 These included the Anti-Doping Act 

(No. 5 of 2016), the Climate Change Act (No. 11 of 2016), the Judiciary Fund Act (No. 16 of 

2016), and the Private Security Regulation Act (No. 13 of 2016).108

 

107 Recent Legislation – 2016, KENYA LAW, http://kenyalaw.org/kl/index.php?id=5995 (last visited Dec. 27, 2016), 

archived at https://perma.cc/HDG6-SXQ3. 

108 Id.