The High Court on Friday declared the National Government, Constituency Development Fund (NG-CDF) unconstitutional.
The three-judge bench comprising Justices Kanyi Kimondo, Justice Mugure Thande and Lady Justice Roselyne Aburili observed that NG-CDF undermined the spirit of devolution and faulted the extra layer created which leads to wastage of public resources.
“For all the above reasons and conclusions, we now make the following declarations, that the National Government Constituency Development Fund Act of 2015 as amended in 2022, and 2023 is hereby declared unconstitutional,” stated the court.
In their ruling, the three judges directed that pending government projects funded under the NG-CDF be completed by June 2026, when the fund will cease being operational.
"That NG-CDF and all its projects, programs and activities shall cease to operate at the stroke of midnight on 30th June 2026," the court declared.
The court further observed that NG-CDF has also created overlaps in government activities.
While issuing the judgement, the judges further noted that the lack of the Senate's input is direct contravention of the 2010 Constitution.
The court concluded that the Act violated the Doctrine of Separation of Powers since MPs who are custodians of the fund were involved in its establishment.
The court also noted that the NG-CDF creates a parallel unit of development separate from the counties.
Parties in the case were directed to bear their own costs.
In 2016, Katiba Institute challenged the constitutionality of the Act which argued that the Act violated the Separation of Powers Doctrine.
Attention now turns to MPs who are likely to direct their wrath at the courts especially since they rely on the fund to initiate projects they use to advance their political careers. Lawmakers have in the past threatened to shoot down budgets over the NG-CDF tussle.
