The Prime Minister of Kenya was a post in the Kenyan government. The first Prime Minister of Kenya was

Jomo Kenyatta Jomo Kenyatta (22 August 1978) was a Kenyan anti-colonial activist and politician who governed Kenya as its Prime Minister from 1963 to 1964 and then as its first President from 1964 to his death in 1978. He was the country's first indigenous ...

, who became Prime Minister in 1963. In 1964, Kenya became a

republic A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th c ...

, the post of Prime Minister was abolished and Jomo Kenyatta became

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

. Following a power-sharing agreement in February 2008, the role was recreated that April and held by

Raila Odinga Raila Amolo Odinga (born 7 January 1945) is a Kenyan politician, former Member of Parliament (MP) for Langata and businessman who served as the Prime Minister of Kenya from 2008 to 2013. He is assumed to be the Leader of Opposition in Kenya sin ...

. The position was again abolished by the

2010 Constitution The Constitution of Kenya is the supreme lawof the Republic of Kenya. There have been three significant versions of the constitution, with the most recent redraft being enabled in 2010. The 2010 edition replaced the 1963 independence constitu ...

after the 2013 elections. The proposed 2021 constitutional referendum would have decided whether to constitutionally reestablish the office. The process of the proposed amendments to the constitution, was declared unconstitutional by the

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

of Kenya On 31 March 2022. The court also barred the

Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) is an independent regulatory agency that was founded in the year 2011 through the making of the Constitution of Kenya. The Commission is responsible for conducting or supervising refere ...

from proceeding with the referendum.

History

In 1 June 1963, Dominion of Kenya had her first Prime Minister. The head of state remained

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...

who was represented through a Governor-General in Kenya. The Governor-General could then select a Prime Minister from whichever political party that had the majority in the House of Representatives; the Prime Minister would be head of government;

was elected as the first Prime Minister of Kenya in 27 May 1963. The Prime Minister office was only effective up to 12 December 1964, before Kenya became a republic; Kenyatta became president. Following the

2007–2008 Kenyan crisis The 2007–2008 Kenyan crisis was a violent political, economic, and humanitarian crisis that erupted in Kenya after former President Mwai Kibaki was declared the winner of the presidential election held on December 27, 2007. Supporters of Ki ...

, President

Mwai Kibaki Emilio Stanley Mwai Kibaki (15 November 1931 – 21 April 2022) was a Kenyan politician who served as the third President of Kenya from December 2002 until April 2013 and is regarded as one of Kenya's founding fathers. He had previously ser ...

and

reached an agreement to form a coalition government in 28 February 2008. Kibaki was to remain the Head of State, while Odinga would have a new role of Prime Minister. Both would appoint half the cabinet. Both leading coalitions produced a deputy Prime Minister—

Musalia Mudavadi Wycliffe Musalia Mudavadi (born 21 September 1960) is a Kenyan politician and land economist who is currently serving as the Prime Cabinet Secretary of Kenya. Until October 2022, he was also the party leader of the Amani National Congress (ANC ...

for ODM, and

Uhuru Kenyatta Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta (born 26 October 1961) is a Kenyan politician who served as the fourth president of Kenya from 2013 to 2022. Kenyatta was chosen by Daniel Arap Moi as his preferred successor, but Kenyatta was defeated by opposition le ...

for PNU. The Prime Minister office was reestablished through the

National Accord and Reconciliation Act 2008 The National Accord and Reconciliation Act of 2008 is an act of the National Assembly of Kenya that temporarily re-established the offices of Prime Minister of Kenya, along with the creation of two deputy prime ministers. This act followed the Febru ...

. The post was abolished in 2013 after the current

Constitution of Kenya The Constitution of Kenya is the supreme lawof the Republic of Kenya. There have been three significant versions of the constitution, with the most recent redraft being enabled in 2010. The 2010 edition replaced the 1963 independence constitu ...

was effected, which did not provide for the office of Prime Minister, making Kenya a purely presidential system. Efforts have been initiated to reintroduced the office through constitutional amendment through the Building Bridges Initiative constitutional referendum attempt. On 31 March 2022, the

Supreme Court of Kenya The Supreme Court of Kenya is the highest court in Kenya. It is established under Article 163 of the Kenyan Constitution. As the highest court in the nation, its decisions are binding and set precedent on all other courts in the country. Jurisdi ...

upheld the rulings of the lower courts, ruling that, "The Constitution Amendment Bill of 2020 is unconstitutional," because President Kenyatta

huru Huru may refer to: * Hiurud, an Iranian village also known as Hūrū * Chronicle of Huru, forged 19th century text about Romanian history in Moldavia * Mbira huru, African wood and metal key instrument, similar to a marimba * Dickson Huru (born 199 ...

initiated the amendments through his creation of the Presidential Taskforce on Building Bridges to Unity Advisory, and vocal endorsement of the legislation crafted based on their findings.

Prime ministers of Kenya (1963–1964; 2008–2013)

;Parties

References

External links

Prime ministers A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is no ...

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

Prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

{{Kenya-stub

History

Prime ministers of Kenya (1963–1964; 2008–2013)

See also

References

External links