Throughout 2025, Kenyan courts repeatedly invalidated key government directives, ranging from mining fee hikes to restrictions on state advertising, citing a persistent failure to consult the public and violations of constitutional boundaries.
On the morning of October 15, while Kenyans were coming to terms with the death of veteran opposition leader Raila Odinga in India, President William Ruto assented to eight Bills at State House.
The laws assented to on this day of mourning for Kenyans included the Computer Misuse and Cybercrimes (Amendment) Act, the Wildlife Conservation and Management (Amendment) Act, and the National Police Service Commission (Amendment) Act.
Others were the Land (Amendment) Act, the National Land Commission (Amendment) Act, the Air Passenger Service Charge (Amendment) Act, the Virtual Asset Service Providers Act and the Privatisation Act.
Former Chief Justice David Maraga was among the high-profile leaders who criticised President Ruto over his move to assent to the eight Bills.
Former Chief Justice David Maraga addresses journalists on October 21, 2025 at the Panafric Hotel on the signing of new laws by President Ruto.
Mr Maraga accused the government of attempting to “rob Kenyans” by granting the President and the Treasury Cabinet Secretary unchecked authority to dispose of national assets.
The Computer Misuse and Cybercrimes (Amendment) Bill, 2024-Now an Act
The Bill amended the Computer Misuse and Cybercrimes Act, Cap. 79C to enhance the existing provisions in the Act which prohibit the use of electronic mediums to promote unlawful activities, child pornography, terrorism, religious extremism and cultism, cyber- harassment, and identity theft and fraud.
The Bill amended the current provisions of the Act to empower the National Computer and Cybercrimes Co-ordination Committee to issue a directive to render a website or application inaccessible where it is proved that the website or application promotes unlawful activities, child pornography, terrorism or religious extremism and cultism.
The Bill also amended the current section 27 of the Act to enhance the offence of cyber- harassment to cover instances where a perpetrator knows that their conduct is likely to cause a person to commit suicide.
Additionally, in the event of a successful prosecution of an offender, the amendments empower the Court to order the removal of any unlawful or extremist content from a platform or device.
The amendments are in line with the best practice in regulating access to harmful online content in the United Kingdom and the United States, especially with regard to child pornography and extremism.
Legal practitioners have, however, expressed concern that the act could lead to the arbitrary criminalisation of legitimate public discourse on important national issues affecting the people.
There are also concerns that section 27, which criminalises speech that detrimentally affects someone if it’s indecent or grossly offensive or is likely to cause apprehension or fear as vague since it is not clear who determines what is ‘grossly offensive’
The Wildlife Conservation and Management (Amendment) Bill, 2023
The Bill amended the Wildlife Conservation and Management Act, Cap. 376 to include additional marine wildlife among the wildlife species for which victims may be compensated for injury or death. Kenyan communities living adjacent to marine areas can now be compensated for injuries suffered from attacks by sharks, stonefish, whales, and stingrays.
The Bill, however, raised concerns as Parliament was accused of excluding the marginalised communities who are greatly affected by the Act.
Civil Societies comprising Ulinzi Africa, Pwani Animal Welfare, Muslim for Human Rights, and Care Animal Welfare feel there was inadequate public and stakeholder participation. They say the process was rushed.
In particular, the community-based Civil Societies said the Act violated Article 10(2) of the constitution, which attaches so much premium on public participation as a national value and principle of governance.
In addition, they pointed out that the Act violated Article 118 (1) (b) of the constitution, which mandates facilitation of public participation in the legislative process.
Further, they pointed out that the Act contravened Article 69 (1) (d), which requires the State to encourage public participation in environmental and wildlife management.
Land (Amendment) Bill (National Assembly Bill, 2022)
The Bill amended the Land Act to compel the Chief Land Registrar to register all public land allocated to a public body or institution by the National Land Commission and any land set aside by a developer for a public purpose in their approved development plan.
The amendments further require the registration of public land and land earmarked for public amenities to be published in the Kenya Gazette to ensure that all public land and those set aside by developers for public amenities, such as schools and hospitals, are registered and publicised.
There are, however, concerns that the Act risks undermining NLC and the Constitution as it imposes a strict timeline of five years on the NLC for reviewing historical grants and resolving disputes, potentially overriding the Constitution's mandate and violating the NLC's independence.
The Law Society of Kenya also argues that Parliament, through ordinary legislation, cannot diminish constitutional mandates or powers vested in independent bodies like the NLC.
The Virtual Asset Service Providers Bill, 2025
The Bill seeks to remedy Kenya’s grey-listing by key global agencies over money laundering by establishing a structured, transparent, and enforceable regulatory framework to ensure that virtual asset activities are conducted in compliance with international standards on financial integrity, consumer protection, and anti- money laundering (AML) obligations.
The Bill designates the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) and the Capital Markets Authority (CMA) as the principal regulatory authorities to license and regulate the activities of Virtual Asset Service Providers to ensure a coherent, risk-based oversight model for the sector with strong consumer protection, cybersecurity, and market integrity safeguards.
In February 2024, Kenya was placed on the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Grey List partly due to the rapid growth and usage of unregulated virtual asset activities.
The country committed to taking legislative steps to further regulate areas identified as likely conduits for money-laundering and terrorism financing, including virtual assets such as cryptocurrencies.
The lack of a Virtual Assets legislation formed part of the deliberations of the meetings between the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the government that concluded on October 9, 2025.
National Land Commission (Amendment) Bill (National Assembly Bill, 2023)
The Bill empowers the National Land Commission to review all grants or dispositions of public land to establish their propriety or legality and hear all affected parties within a period of five years from the commencement of the amendment.
The power to review shall therefore lapse in October, 2030. The extension shall allow the Commission to resolve land issues in the Coastal counties and issues relating to public land previously earmarked for settlement of landless persons by the government.
The Privatisation Bill, 2025
The Bill provides for the approval of the sale of government assets and shares in a government-linked corporation by both the Cabinet and the National Assembly.
It streamlines the regulatory and institutional framework for the implementation of a privatisation, providing for statutory safeguards to achieve the objectives of the law, and aligning it to the fast-changing global and Kenyan environment.
Additionally, it outlines various privatisation methods, including initial public offer of shares, sale of shares by public tender, and sale resulting from the exercise of pre-emptive rights.
Crucially, the Bill distinguishes and explains the differences between privatisation and dilution of government shareholding in already privatised entities. The lack of distinction between the two processes was a legislative lacuna requiring urgent rectification through legislation.
However, the Act has been challenged in court by Omar Faruk Maalim and Abdulhakim Dahir Sheikh, who argue that it was enacted without meaningful public participation, contrary to Articles 10 and 118 of the Constitution.
The petitioners, however, acknowledged that the National Assembly placed a public notice on August 7, 2025, inviting members of the public to present their memoranda on the Bill; it did not use its social media platform to reach a wider audience.
It is, however, important to note that there is currently no law on Public Participation. The National Assembly is in the process of enacting this law.
The petitioners warned that Section 21(1), which grants the Cabinet Secretary authority to identify and determine which public entities are to be privatised, hands excessive and unchecked powers to the CS in violation of the principles of separation of powers and parliamentary oversight.
The petitioners warned that privatising critical infrastructure such as water, energy, ports, transport systems, and telecommunications will place essential national assets in the hands of private actors whose primary responsibility is profit, not public welfare.
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