Verbatim text
jurisdiction of both levels of government.
(2) National legislation prevails over county legislation if—
(a) the national legislation applies uniformly throughout Kenya and
any of the conditions specified in clause (3) is satisfied; or
(b) the national legislation is aimed at preventing unreasonable
action by a county that—
(i)is prejudicial to the economic, health or security
interests of Kenya or another county; or
(ii) impedes the implementation of national economic policy.
(3) The following are the conditions referred to in clause (2) ( a)—
(a) the national legislation provides for a matter that cannot be
regulated effectively by legislation enacted by the individual
counties;
(b) the national legislation provides for a matter that, to be dealt
with effectively, requires uniformity across the nation, and the
national legislation provides that uniformity by establishing—
(i)norms and standards; or
(ii) national policies; or
(c) the national legislation is necessary for—
(i)the maintenance of national security;
(ii)the maintenance of economic unity;115
(iii) the protection of the common market in respect of the
mobility of goods, services, capital and labour;
(iv) the promotion of economic activities across county
boundaries;
(v)the promotion of equal opportunity or equal access to
government services; or
(vi) the protection of the environment.
(4) County legislation prevails over national legislation if neither
of the circumstances contemplated in clause (2) apply.
(5) In considering an apparent conflict between legislation of
different levels of government, a court shall prefer a reasonable
interpretation of the legislation that avoids a conflict to an alternative
interpretation that results in conflict.
(6) A decision by a court that a provision of legislation of one
level of government prevails over a provision of legislation of another
level of government does not invalidate the other provision, but the
other provision is inoperative to the extent of the inconsistency.
What this means
- The index files this text under article 191 of the Constitution of Kenya.
- The passage runs to about 299 words.
- Read plainly, it mentions equality and non-discrimination — it requires equal treatment or forbids discrimination (the words used: “equal”).
The row’s stored title is a body fragment, not a heading (“(1) This Article applies to conflicts between national and county legislation in respect of matters falling within the concurrent”), 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.
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 191, Portable Lawyer, https://www.portablelawyer.app/provision/bfe8b84c-542d-4360-a6bc-b969cbb2dbef (accessed 25 October 2026).
Canonical URL: https://www.portablelawyer.app/provision/bfe8b84c-542d-4360-a6bc-b969cbb2dbef
Accessed 25 October 2026.
Link to the canonical URL above, not to a #section-… fragment on the jurisdiction page — the fragment is a scroll position, this URL is the provision.
Machine-readable versions