REPUBLIC OF KENYA - The Judiciary

“The Constitution is not an Act of Parliament and is
not to be interpreted as one. It is the Supreme Law
of the land; it is a living instrument with a soul and
consciousness; it embodies certain fundamental
values and principles and must be construed
broadly, liberally and purposively or teleologically
to give effect to those values and principles. …
Those to my mind are the values and principles of
the Constitution to which a court must constantly
fix its eyes when interpreting the Constitution.”
[127] My purpose in invoking the above, is to point out that the apex
Court, in all matters before it, needs to be sensitive to the expectations
and the aspirations of the people. I think that Parliament’s enactment
of Section 14 of the Supreme Court Act had laudable intentions, which
resonated with the will and sentiments of ordinary citizens. Indeed, the
Court aptly observed in the Macharia Case as follows:
“Although we have a perception of the good intentions
that could have moved Parliament as it provided for the
‘extra’ jurisdiction for the Supreme Court, we believe this,
as embodied in Section 14 of the Supreme Court Act,
ought to have been anchored under Article 163(4) of the
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