The ongoing push by Parliament to amend the Constitution through a proposed Bill faces a fresh hurdle following the filing of a petition at the High Court challenging the legality of the process.
The lawsuit, filed under a certificate of urgency by Katiba Institute and four other civil society organizations yesterday, seeks orders to bar the National Assembly from proceeding with the Constitution of Kenya (Amendment) Bill, 2025.
Katiba Institute, The Institute for Social Accountability, Centre for Enhancing Democracy and Good Governance, Kenya Human Rights Commission, and Transparency International-Kenya argue that the Constitution of Kenya (Amendment) Bill, 2025 is legally flawed and financially wasteful, asserting that the proposed amendments are unnecessary, risk undermining constitutional principles, and represent a misuse of public resources in a fiscally constrained environment. "The push by the National Assembly to amend the Constitution, while within the sovereign prerogative of the Kenyan people, is presently being misused to entrench unnecessary matters without regard to the implications, in terms of wastage of public resources, on the sustainable delivery of essential services to the Kenyan people," the petition reads in part.
The petitioners argue that Parliament has "jumped the gun" by initiating constitutional amendments without first enacting a referendum law, as mandated under Article 82 of the Constitution. "Constitutional amendment contemplated under Chapter Sixteen of the Constitution is an arduous and convoluted process that cannot be undertaken without first setting the guiding statutory and procedural rubric," reads the petition.
