MALINDI, Kenya — The High Court in Malindi has ruled that Kenya’s Constitution does not guarantee the President a fixed five-year term, in a landmark judgment that could reshape the country’s electoral calendar.
In a decision delivered by Justice Mugure Thande, the court held that, under Article 136(2)(a) of the Constitution, a presidential election must be held on the second Tuesday of August in the fifth year following the previous election—not after the fifth year.
“It is quite evident that the date set by the second respondent (IEBC) for the next General Election is the second Tuesday in August after the fifth year and not in the fifth year as stipulated in the Constitution,” Justice Thande stated in the judgment.
The judge further declared that Article 142, or any other provision of the Constitution, does not confer a five-year term of office on the President.
“By operation of Article 136(2)(a) of the Constitution, the term of office of the President is not five years.”
Justice Thande also ruled that holding a presidential election on any date other than the second Tuesday of August 2026 would violate several constitutional provisions, including Articles 2, 3, 10, 136, 142, 249 and 259, and would therefore be null and void.
However, the court suspended the implementation of its declaration until after the 2027 General Election, giving the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) time to correct the constitutional defect identified in the ruling.
The court dismissed all other prayers in the petition and ordered that each party bears its own legal costs.
The judgment stems from a constitutional dispute over how Kenya’s presidential election cycle should be calculated and the legally correct date for the country’s next General Election.
