NG-CDF Appeal: What the Supreme Court’s September 2026 Ruling Did
Updated October 9, 2026
The National Government Constituencies Development Fund (NG-CDF) Act, 2015 remains the subject of a constitutional appeal. The Court of Appeal set aside a 2024 High Court judgment that had declared the Act unconstitutional. The matter then moved to the Supreme Court; the Supreme Court’s September 25, 2026 ruling addressed a filing deadline, not the underlying constitutionality of the Act.
What the Court of Appeal decided
On February 6, 2026, the Court of Appeal set aside the High Court judgment and rejected the conclusion that the NG-CDF Act, as a whole, violated the constitutional structure of devolution and division of national and county functions. The appellate decision did not end the dispute: Wanjiru Gikonyo and Cornelius Oduor Opuot filed a Supreme Court appeal.
What happened at the Supreme Court
On September 25, the Supreme Court granted the Senate additional time to file its grounds and submissions in support of the appeal. It ordered the Senate to file them within seven days and allowed the National Assembly and the NG-CDF Board to file rejoinders. This was a procedural ruling about late filings; it did not decide the substantive appeal.
What the dispute is about
The case concerns the constitutionality of the legal framework for constituency-level development funding, including questions about devolution, Parliament’s role and the distribution of public resources. The lower courts have reached different conclusions, which is why the Supreme Court proceedings matter.
At the time of this update, this article has not verified a final Supreme Court judgment on the Act’s constitutionality. The Court of Appeal ruling and the Supreme Court’s procedural order should not be described as the Supreme Court’s final answer.
