- Owing to their independence and inter-dependence, none has been singled out as superior to the other
- The arrangement provides checks and balances in the execution of their mandates
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The Legislature, the Executive, and the Judiciary are the three arms of the national government, each of which is independent of the other and has individual roles set by the Constitution of Kenya.
Owing to their independence and inter-dependence, none has been singled out as superior to the other, with the arrangement providing checks and balances in the execution of their mandates. The arrangement is common with most democracies that practice a presidential or parliamentary system of governance.
The Executive consists of the president, the deputy president and the Cabinet. The president is the head of state and government. The president exercises the executive authority with the assistance of the DP and Cabinet secretaries. He is the commander-in-chief of the Kenya Defence Forces and a symbol of national unity.
The Executive's major role is to enforce, or rather implement the laws and policies of the land and exists at both the national and county levels of government. It is distinct from the Legislature and the powers of its head are limited and checked.
The Legislature is the supreme law-making body that controls the financial appropriation of government departments and examines government proposals with a view to improving them. Kenya has a bicameral Legislature, which consists of the National Assembly with 349 elected and nominated members and the Senate with 67, bringing the total number of MPs to 416.
They make and amend laws that govern the people of Kenya. It is the body that represents the people in the constituency, hence, members advance the interests of the people at the National Assembly. It also exists at both the national and county level. Among the key roles of the national legislature is to impeach the President.
The Judiciary is responsible for determining disputes and interpreting laws. It is independent of both the Executive and the Legislature – but it is worth noting that its budget is approved by Parliament. The Judiciary has three jurisdictions – the High Court, Court of Appeal, and Supreme Court. It is headed by a chief justice and a deputy chief justice. The Constitution says the Judiciary should ensure justice is done to all, irrespective of their status and see that justice is not to be delayed. The Judiciary is not devolved but its officers are vetted.
Most African countries, and even the West, work with a similar arrangement, albeit with many having instances where the presidency is independent of the legislature. This is largely in Angola, Benin, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Comoros, Cote d’Ivoire, Djibouti, the Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Malawi, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
From this analogy, it can be concluded that the Judiciary did not exceed its mandate with the Building Bridges Initiative ruling. The country’s top legal brasses hold that the court acted within its purview and that the Constitution has provisions for appeal by persons not satisfied with the verdict.
In the hierarchies of the judicial system, the ruling can be challenged at the Court of Appeal and terminate at the Supreme Court in case either party is dissatisfied.