National Assembly to challenge High Court ruling on NG-CDF

By Robert Mutasi 

National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang'ula responded furiously with an assurance that the legislature intends to appeal the High Court ruling declaring NG-CDF unconstitutional.

The High Court court declared that the NG-CDF Act, 2015, as amended in 2022 and 2023, is null and void for violating the principles of public finance and the doctrine of separation of powers in its judgment dated 20th September 2024.

Wetang'ula said, "The National Assembly intends to appeal the judgement on all the grounds cited by the Petitioners and allowed by the Court." 

This is probably going to kick off a legal battle because the court declared that unless contested successfully, all the projects, programmes, and activities of NG-CDF would stand terminated on 30th June, 2026.

High Court ruling followed a petition that Katiba Institute, a civil society organization committed to promoting constitutionalism and good governance, filed in 2016.

The petition had challenged the legality of the NG-CDF Act on grounds that it allowed Members of Parliament to encroach on the executive's role by controlling funds meant for development projects in constituencies.

This setup contravened the principle of the separation of powers and public finance management according to the institute.

The NG-CDF was established in 2003 with a provision for allocating 2.5 per cent of the annual revenue of the national government to development projects at the constituency level.

Members of Parliament were meant to supervise the implementation of the projects in their constituencies, which essentially aimed at the provision of local infrastructure, education and health services.

However, critics claimed that money in the hands of MPs blurred boundaries between the executive and the legislature, leading to misuse and non-transparency.

In the Judgement, the High Court said it agreed with the petitioners that NG-CDF Act had violated provisions of the Constitution on the management of public funds as well as those separating the roles of the executive from those of the legislature.

"For all the foregoing reasons and conclusions, we hereby declare as follows: that the National Government Constituency Development Fund Act of 2015, as amended in 2022 and 2023, is hereby declared unconstitutional," the court ruled.

As the court gave up to June 2026 for activities to cease under NG-CDF, constituency-based development funding in Kenya hangs in the balance.

This may further mean that the decision by the National Assembly to challenge this ruling could translate into a protracted legal battle that might affect the livelihoods of many communities that have over the years benefited from the said fund.