Structure of government under the Constitution of Kenya.

Maneno H.R has deliberately chosen to focus on the Constitution adopted by Kenyans on 04.08.2010. I have talked to many people who have confessed that they have not laid a finger on the Constitution after the referendum. A friend was brutally honest and told me " this constitution is for you lawyers". It is our duty to invest in civic education so that people understand the constitution that governs them. Today lets examine the structure of government. Note however that county governments will start operating from 2012 after the general elections.

The power exercised by state officers in parliament, executive and judiciary is delegated to them by the people, Article 1 of the Constitution.

NATIONAL GOVERNMENT

• Executive (Chapter 9) The executive is made up of the Cabinet. The cabinet is composed of the President, Deputy-president, Attorney - General and Cabinet Secretaries.

• Parliament (Chapter 7). Parliament is composed of the National Assembly and Senate.The national assembly shall consist of 290 elected MPs, 47 elected women representatives, 12 nominated MPs and the speaker who is an ex-officio member. The senate is composed on 47 elected senators, 16 women nominated by political parties, one man and one woman representing the youth, one man and one woman representing persons with disabilities and the speaker who is an ex-officio member.

• Judiciary (Chapter 9). The structure of courts is as follows

          Supreme court - Court of Appeal - High court, Employment Tribunal, Environmental Tribunal and 
          other tribunals - Subordinate Courts (Magistrate court, Kadhi court and Court Martial)

COUNTY GOVERNMENTS

• County Executive Committee (Article 179). It is composed of Governor, Deputy Governor and 1 - 10 members appointed by the governor with approval of the County Assembly (Equivalent to Cabinet Secretaries at the National Executive).

• County Assembly (Article 177). The assembly is composed of one member elected from every ward in the county, special seats to ensure that the a third gender rule is obeyed, members representing marginalised communities and persons with disabilities and the speaker.

Clause 17 of the Sixth Schedule provides that within 5 years the national government shall restructure the provincial administration to accord with and respect the system of devolved government. This does not mean that the provincial administration will be posted in the County governments. I simply means that officers in the provincial administration shall be given other jobs within the public service.

Have a governed day.