The Constitution of Kenya (Amendment) Bill, 2025 (Senate Bills No. 13 of 2025) was read a First Time in the Senate on Thursday, 7^th August, 2025 and thereafter stood committed to the Standing Committee on Justice, Legal Affairs and Human Rights for consideration. The Committee is required, under standing order 145(5) of the Senate Standing Orders, to facilitate public participation on the Bill and to take into account the views and recommendations of the public when the Committee makes its report to the Senate.

The Bill seeks to amend the Constitution to address challenges of constitutional design and architecture that require reform so as to strengthen and secure the devolved system of government and for greater unity and harmony of the constitutional dispensation. The Bill proposes to achieve this by –

1. clarifying the role of various organs and institutions established by the Constitution in the process of implementation of devolution;
2. reviewing the mandate of the National Assembly and the Senate in order to clarify the shared role of the Houses of Parliament and the special roles assigned to each House of Parliament;
3. refining the legislative process set out in the Constitution in order to ensure that both Houses of Parliament play an effective role in the legislative process; and
4. ensuring that both the National Assembly and the Senate play an effective role in the budget making process in order to safeguard the implementation of devolution.

The Bill proposes to –

1. ensure that there is clarity in the role of each House so as to avoid overlaps and varied interpretations of the role of the respective Houses;
2. provide for the leadership and the order of precedence in the Senate;
3. provide for the origination of any Bill in either House of Parliament, save for a Bill on raising national revenue which may only originate in the National Assembly;
4. grant full legislative mandate to both Houses of Parliament and provide for the procedure for the consideration of Bills by both Houses of Parliament;
5. provide for the procedure for the consideration of allocation and appropriation Bills by both Houses of Parliament;
6. provide the procedure for referral of a Bill for assent after the mediation process and further excludes the allocation and appropriation Bills from the mediation process;
7. repeal the definition of the term “money Bill”;
8. provide for the joint submission of a Bill passed by Parliament by the Speakers of both Houses of Parliament to the President for assent;
9. provide clarity on the coming into force of Bills that are deemed to have been assented to under Article 115(6) of the Constitution;
10. provide for the establishment of a County Assembly Fund with respect to each county assembly;
11. provide the procedure for the submission and consideration of estimates of revenue and expenditure of entities at the National level of Government by both Houses of Parliament;
12. clarify that the basis for the preparation of budgets by county governments is a County Allocation of Revenue Bill;
13. assign the responsibility of approving or vetting of various State officers to both Houses of Parliament; and  
14. assign the process of removing from office a member of a commission or holder of an independent office to both Houses of Parliament.

In accordance with the provisions of Articles 118 and 256 of the Constitution and standing order 145 (5) of the Senate Standing Orders, the Standing Committee on Justice, Legal Affairs and Human Rights now invites members of the public to submit any representations that they may have on the Bill by way of written memoranda.

The memoranda may be submitted to the Clerk of the Senate, P. O. Box 41842-00100, Nairobi, hand-delivered to the Office of the Clerk of the Senate, Main Parliament Buildings, Nairobi or emailed to maoni@parliament.go.ke to be received on or before Friday, 26^th September, 2025 at 5.00 p.m.

In addition, the Senate will hold public hearings on the Bill in the forty-seven counties, on dates and venues to be communicated.  

The Bill and a digest that summarizes the contents and context of the Bill may be accessed on the Parliament website at http://www.parliament.go.ke/the-senate/house-business/bills.