The High Court has nullified 23 laws that were passed by the National Assembly without the input of the Senate, dealing a major blow to the government – by Enock Mukoma
Justices Jairus Ngaah, Antony Ndungu, and Teresiah Matheka unanimously ruled that one speaker cannot unilaterally make a decision on whether a bill does or does not concern counties.
They ruled that the National Assembly cannot pass laws without the Senate’s input.
The national assembly had passed some 23 laws on devolution without the input of the Senate whose protests were ignored.
“Where the Constitution decrees a specific procedure to be followed in the enactment of the legislation, both Houses of Parliament are bound to follow that procedure. If Parliament violates the procedural requirements of the supreme law of the land, it is for the courts of law, not least the Supreme Court to assert the authority and supremacy of the Constitution,” the judges ruled.
They said for such laws to be passed, the Speaker of the National Assembly must first seek the concurrence of his Senate counterpart, particularly on matters touching on devolution.
“One Speaker cannot unilaterally make a decision as to whether the Bill does or does not concern counties or whether a question as to whether the Bill is one that concerns counties does or does not arise,” they said in a landmark ruling.
The impugned Acts that have been nullified are;
- The Public Trustee Amendment Act No 6 of 2018
- The Building Surveyors Act of 2018
- The Computer Misuse and Cybercrime Act 2018
- The Statute law miscellaneous Amendment Act 2018
- The Kenya Coast Guard Service Act 2018
- The Tax Laws Amendment Act 2018
- The Statute Law Miscellaneous Act 2018
- The Supplementary Appropriation Act No 2 2018
- The Equalisation Fund Appropriation Act 2018
- The Sacco Society Amendment Act no 16 of 2018
- The Finance Act 10 of 2018,
- The Appropriation Act No 7 2018
- The Capital Markets Amendment Act No 15 2018
- The NYS Act No 17 of 2018,
- The Supplementary Appropriation Act No 13 2018
- The Health Laws Amendment Act No 5 2019
- The Sports Amendment Act No 7 of 2019,
- The National Government Constituency Fund Act 2015
- The National Cohesion and Integration Commission Amendment Act 2019
- The Statute Law Miscellaneous Amendment Act 2019
- The Supplementary Appropriation Act No 9 of 2019
- The Appropriation Act 2019
- The Insurance Amendment Act 2019
