NAIROBI, Kenya – The High Court has ordered the National Assembly to release Ksh.10.5 billion to county governments for road maintenance, declaring that the exclusion of devolved units from the Road Maintenance Levy Fund (RMLF) was unconstitutional and a violation of the principles of devolution.
In a ruling issued Thursday, Justice Lawrence Mugambi said the National Assembly’s decision to block counties from accessing the fund undermined the Constitution, particularly Articles 6, 10, and 186.
“The decisions by the National Assembly violated the Constitution and cannot stand,” Justice Mugambi ruled, terming the move unconstitutional, illegal, null and void.
The court directed that the funds be disbursed to counties no later than June 30, 2025, effectively settling a long-running power tussle between the National Assembly and the Council of Governors over control of the RMLF.
The road fund, collected from fuel levies, has long been a political battleground, with Members of Parliament arguing that Governors had misappropriated previous allocations.
In September 2023, MPs moved to remove counties from the list of RMLF beneficiaries, claiming the funds were being misused.
The Council of Governors hit back, accusing MPs of usurping devolved functions and using road maintenance funds as a political tool.
The Governors later moved to court, suing the National Assembly and seven other parties.
Thursday’s judgment is being seen as a major win for devolution advocates, including ODM leader Raila Odinga, who has publicly criticized the National Assembly’s stance and defended counties’ right to control road funds.
Speaking at a recent accountants’ conference in Mombasa, Raila had warned MPs against overreach, saying: “Do all the public participation you want. Ultimately, you must go to a referendum, and you will lose.”
Raila insisted that the road maintenance levy should be controlled by counties to ensure infrastructure aligns with local needs—while also calling for corrupt Governors to be held accountable.
The row over the RMLF had become entangled with a broader legislative push by MPs to entrench key national funds—such as the National Government Constituency Development Fund (NG-CDF), the Senate Oversight Fund, and the National Government Affirmative Action Fund (NGAAF)—into the Constitution through the Constitution Amendment Bill Number 4 of 2025.
Thursday’s ruling is expected to recalibrate the balance of power between Parliament and county governments and could influence the future of resource allocation in Kenya’s devolved system.
