CoA scuttles counties’ bid for road billions in stay order » Capital News

NAIROBI, Kenya, Jul 25 – The Court of Appeal has halted the release of Sh6.8 billion in road maintenance funds to counties after suspending a High Court ruling that declared key provisions of the Kenya Roads Act and Kenya Roads Board Act unconstitutional.

A three-judge bench of Justices Daniel Musinga, Pauline Nyamweya, and George Odunga on Friday granted a 12-month stay of the June 5, 2025 judgment, which had ordered that counties be reinstated as beneficiaries of the Road Maintenance Levy Fund (RMLF) and directed Parliament to align road laws with the Constitution.

The stay effectively freezes Sh6.8 billion of the Sh10.5 billion that the Council of Governors said was due to counties for road maintenance in the 2024/25 financial year. Only Sh3.68 billion has so far been disbursed.

Justice Musinga, reading the ruling, said immediate enforcement of the High Court’s decision would create “chaos and disorder” in road management, cripple the operations of national road agencies, and undermine public interest.

“Taking into consideration all the relevant factors that we have pointed out, we are satisfied that the applicants have demonstrated that the orders sought in the consolidated applications are merited. The appeal and the intended appeal
are arguable,” the bench stated.

“The appeals shall be rendered nugatory unless the orders sought are granted. Public interest also favours grant of the orders sought,” the judges reasoned.

CoG challenge

The Council of Governors had argued that Parliament’s decision to unilaterally exclude counties from the RMLF violated the Constitution’s devolution provisions, but lawmakers countered that the allocations had been folded into counties’ equitable share.

The appellate judges ordered the National Assembly and Kenya Roads Board to fast-track legislative amendments to cure the legal gaps identified by the High Court during the 12-month stay period.

The full appeal will determine whether counties are entitled to a direct share of the RMLF or should rely entirely on their equitable revenue allocations for the maintenance of devolved roads.

In its June 5 judgment, the High Court faulted Parliament for unilaterally scrapping conditional grants to counties from the levy and declared sections of the Kenya Roads Act and Kenya Roads Board Act unconstitutional.

The Kenya Roads Board (KRB) subsequently disbursed Sh3.7 billion to the forty-sen counties under the 2024/2025 fiscal year to repair roads and bridges.

Nakuru, Kitui, and Nairobi counties received the highest allocations of Sh183 million, Sh152 million, and Sh120 million, respectively, under the levy drawn from a Sh25 charge per litre of fuel.