Rédaction Africa Links 24 with Daily Nation
Published on 2024-01-28 05:50:47
Over 200 State entities are currently in a state of uncertainty after the law that brought them into existence expired this week. The Court of Appeal rejected an application to extend their life beyond the 10-year period set for them in 2013, leaving them in a legal limbo.
The Statutory Instruments Act, 2013 provides for the automatic revocation of nearly 1,000 regulations after 10 years, regardless of their nature. Attorney General Justin Muturi and National Assembly Clerk Samuel Njoroge have indicated that the government is considering appealing the decision at the Supreme Court or regularizing the instruments to address the situation.
At the moment, bodies such as the Kenya Ordnance Factories Corporation, Kenyatta National Hospital, and other key entities are operating without any legal instrument. The National Assembly had previously attempted to extend the lifespans of these entities through an amendment brought as part of the Finance Act, 2023 but it was declared unconstitutional by the High Court.
The Court of Appeal also stopped the government from collecting the Housing Levy and highlighted that the National Assembly failed to provide evidence of the law that will cease to exist. Additionally, the court dismissed arguments about potential job losses and the risk of the government being sued for breach of contracts due to the expiry of the Instruments Act, stating that there was no evidence to support these claims.
The National Assembly had previously been given 45 days to reintroduce the expiry clause of section 21 in the Act, but the deadline has passed, raising concerns about the imminent dissolutions of the affected parastatals. The court has emphasized that nothing stops Parliament from re-enacting the statutory instruments and addressing the situation.
