Kenya’s Parliament Sparks Uproar After Passing Controversial Constitutional Amendment Amid Ongoing Legal Showdown

Kenya’s political landscape has been shaken to its core following Parliament’s unanimous passage of the Constitution of Kenya (Amendment) Bill, 2025, a move that has ignited widespread public debate, criticism from civil society, and a fierce legal challenge still pending in court. 

In what many are calling a defiant display of political power, Members of the National Assembly came together across party lines to endorse a bill that seeks to embed three highly debated government funds into the Constitution: the National Government Constituencies Development Fund (NG-CDF), the Senate Oversight Fund (SOF), and the National Government Affirmative Action Fund (NGAAF).  

During Tuesday’s session, 304 MPs voted in favor during the Second Reading, and 298 supported it at the Third Reading. Not a single vote of dissent was recorded. 

Supporters of the amendment argue that these funds are vital tools for promoting grassroots development, strengthening oversight mechanisms, and supporting marginalized groups such as women, youth, and persons with disabilities.  

They see the move as a way to guarantee financial certainty and legal protection for long-standing initiatives that often face administrative bottlenecks. 

But the celebration inside Parliament has met fierce resistance from outside. Legal experts and civic groups led by the Katiba Institute have challenged the bill in court, calling it unconstitutional, unnecessary, and fiscally irresponsible.  

Their central argument is that the Constitution already provides adequate avenues for such funds to exist through legislation, and that anchoring them in the supreme law would be not only redundant but also dangerous. 

The controversy reached a boiling point earlier this year when Katiba Institute and other civil society organizations petitioned the High Court to stop the parliamentary process.  

They argued that the amendment alters the structure of the Constitution in a way that would require approval through a public referendum, something Parliament has not prepared for, especially in the absence of a referendum law, which the Constitution has demanded for the last 14 years. 

Tensions escalated further when, on June 5, High Court Judge Lawrence Mugambi ruled that while the National Assembly is within its rights to debate and forward the Bill to the Senate, it must halt any further action, particularly the final step of sending it to the president for assent. This decision underscored the seriousness of the legal dispute and left the fate of the Bill hanging in the balance. 

Even as the Senate prepares to consider the amendment, uncertainty reigns. The court has not yet rendered a final verdict, and public pressure continues to mount.  

Kenyans across the country, both online and offline, have raised concerns about the implications of embedding funds directly into the Constitution, especially amid accusations of poor transparency and political manipulation tied to their distribution. 

For some, this development signals a strengthening of devolved governance and grassroots empowerment. For others, it marks a dangerous precedent that could entrench political influence over public spending and sidestep critical checks and balances. 

Whether this Bill becomes law or not, one thing is clear: Kenya’s constitutional democracy is facing one of its most serious tests in recent memory. The clash between Parliament and civil society, between political power and legal restraint, will define not just the future of this amendment, but the very soul of Kenya’s governance model.