Verbatim text
(e) the Bill of Rights;
(f) the term of office of the President;
(g) the independence of the Judiciary and the commissions and
independent offices to which Chapter Fifteen applies;
(h) the functions of Parliament;153
Constitution of Kenya, 2010
(i) the objects, principles and structure of devolved government;
or
(j)the provisions of this Chapter.
(2) A proposed amendment shall be approved by a referendum
under clause (1) if—
(a) at least twenty per cent of the registered voters in each of at
least half of the counties vote in the referendum; and
(b) the amendment is supported by a simple majority of the
citizens voting in the referendum.
(3) An amendment to this Constitution that does not relate to a
matter specified in clause (1) shall be enacted either—
(a) by Parliament, in accordance with Article 256; or
(b) by the people and Parliament, in accordance with Article 257.
Amendment by parliamentary initiative.
256. (1) A Bill to amend this Constitution—
(a) may be introduced in either House of Parliament;
(b) may not address any other matter apart from consequential
amendments to legislation arising from the Bill;
(c) shall not be called for second reading in either House within
ninety days after the first reading of the Bill in that House; and
(d) shall have been passed by Parliament when each House of
Parliament has passed the Bill, in both its second and third
readings, by not less than two-thirds of all the members of
that House.
(2) Parliament shall publicise any Bill to amend this Constitution,
and facilitate public discussion about the Bill.
(3) After Parliament passes a Bill to amend this Constitution, the
Speakers of the two Houses of Parliament shall jointly submit to the
President—
(a) the Bill, for assent and publication; and
(b) a certificate that the Bill has been passed by Parliament in
accordance with this Article.154
Constitution of Kenya, 2010
(4) Subject to clause (5), the President shall assent to the Bill and
cause it to be published within thirty days after the Bill is enacted by
Parliament.
(5) If a Bill to amend this Constitution proposes an amendment
relating to a matter specified in Article 255 (1)—
(a) the President shall, before assenting to the Bill, request the
Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission to
conduct, within ninety days, a national referendum for
approval of the Bill; and
(b) within thirty days after the chairperson of the Independent
Electoral and Boundaries Commission has certified to the
President that the Bill has been approved in accordance with
What this means
- The index files this text under article 10 of the Constitution of Kenya.
- The index files it under the chapter heading “Chapter EIGHTEEN: —TRANSITIONAL AND CONSEQUENTIAL”.
- The passage runs to about 422 words.
The row’s stored title is a body fragment, not a heading (“(2) (a) to (d);”), so it is not used as the provision’s title here.
The index gives this passage an article number but stores a body fragment where a heading would be, so the number could not be cross-checked against the text. Check it against the official Constitution before relying on it in a citation.
No rights vocabulary from our fixed word list appears in this passage, so no plain-language reading is offered for it.
This is a mechanical reading aid generated from the text above by matching words in it. It is not legal advice, not a lawyer’s interpretation, and not a substitute for the provision itself.
How to cite this
Constitution of Kenya, article 10, Portable Lawyer, https://www.portablelaw.com/provision/7af9ccc3-f371-4cfd-8608-5ebb54009031 (accessed 27 September 2026).
Canonical URL: https://www.portablelaw.com/provision/7af9ccc3-f371-4cfd-8608-5ebb54009031
Accessed 27 September 2026.
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