The High Court has declined a prayer for the release of Kshs. 10 Billion from the Road Maintainance Levy Fund directly to the Counties.
In a Judgement earlier today, High Court Judge Justice Lawrence Mugambi declined to issue the said prayer as sought by the Petitioners including the Council of Governors (COG), who had sued the National Assembly and seven others over the Fund.
In his Judgement, the Judge, however, granted an order on the unconstitutionality of section 6 of the Kenya Roads Authority Board Act, relating to the criteria for disbursement of the said Fund, but stayed the decision for 14 days to allow the National Assembly and the other respondents time to file their Appeal against the Judgement.
In the Petition COG, alongside Mr. Issa Elanyi Chamao, Mr. Patrick Ekirapa, Mr. Paul Kirui and the International Legal Consultancy Group Limited, had accused the National Assembly of unilaterally removing County Governments as beneficiaries of the Road Maintenance Levy Fund (RMLF) in the Financial Year 2024/2025.
Consequently, the Petitioners asked the High Court to declare section 6 of the Kenya Roads Board Act, which lists the criteria for allocation of the RMLF as unconstitutional.
The Act currently lists the Agencies to which the Funds can be disbursed as the Kenya National Highways Authority (KENHA), the Kenya Urban Roads Authority (KURA), the Kenya Rural Roads Authority (KURRA) and the Kenya Wildlife Service, with the remainder of the Funds going to operations of the Kenya Roads Authority Board (KRAB).
By declining the prayer for an order for the release of the Funds to the Counties, and the subsequent stay of the Court’s decision on the constitutionality of section 6 of the Act, KRAB can therefore proceed with its operations in the interim as currently provided for in the Law.
The Petitioners had alleged that KURA and KERA which are National Government road agencies deal with roads that have been devolved to County Governments and therefore sought release of the Kshs. 10.5 Billion from KRAB to the Counties, a prayer which the Court declined to grant.
In an interim conservatory order on August 19, 2024 Justice Mugambi had frozen release of the Kshs. 10.5 Billion by the Kenya Roads Board, which had been collected as RMLF in the Financial Year 2024/2025 to the
The said orders were issued while the County Government’s Additional Allocation Bill, 2024 was still under consideration by Parliament. The frozen RMLF amount of Kshs. 10.5 was at the time part of the contentious provisions in the Bill.
Whereas the Petitioners expressly sought a mandatory order directing the Kenya Roads Board to disburse to the county governments the sum of Kshs.10.522,221,853.00 due to them for the financial year 2024/2025. The Court
declined to issue this order or any order directing the disbursement of the Kshs.10.522,221,853.00 to county governments.
The effect of the order of stay issued by the High Court is that section 6 of the Kenya Roads Board Act is still in force and operational. The Kenya Roads Board is therefore mandated to disburse the Road Maintenance Fuel Levy to the agencies and by the formula set out in section 6 of the Kenya Roads Board Act.
The effect of the order of stay issued by the High Court is that section 47 of the Kenya Roads Act is still in force and operational. The classification of roads made under the said provision is therefore still in force and operational.
The conservatory order issued by the High Court on 19th August 2024 freezing funds held by the Kenya Roads Board collected as RMLF in the Financial Year 2024/2025 to the extent of Kshs. 10,522,211,853.00 has lapsed with effect from
today, 5th June 2025. This means that the said amount is now available for release and distribution and tarmacking of the roads on many roads in the country affected by flooding during the long rains.
The National Assembly will appeal today’s Judgement at the Court of Appeal.
