KenyaKE

Article 256 of the Constitution of Kenya

Article
256
Index row title
(1) A Bill to amend this Constitution—
Source document
The Kenya Constitution
Provision ID
1a7a53e6-40db-4c60-afb8-57bd3423b032

277 words

Verbatim text

(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 (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 Article 255 (2), the President shall assent to the Bill and cause it to be published. Amendment by popular initiative.

What this means

  • The index files this text under article 256 of the Constitution of Kenya.
  • The passage runs to about 277 words.

The row’s stored title is a body fragment, not a heading (“(1) A Bill to amend this Constitution—”), 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 256, Portable Lawyer, https://www.portablelawyer.app/provision/1a7a53e6-40db-4c60-afb8-57bd3423b032 (accessed 25 October 2026).

Canonical URL: https://www.portablelawyer.app/provision/1a7a53e6-40db-4c60-afb8-57bd3423b032

Accessed 25 October 2026.

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