𝐇𝐢𝐠𝐡 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐭 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐬 𝐥𝐚𝐰 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐬 𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥

Former President Uhuru Kenyatta has received a legal reprieve after the High Court declared unconstitutional law restricting retired presidents from holding political party positions after leaving office.

Justice Bahati Mwamuye, in a judgment delivered on Monday, September 21, 2026, declared Section 6 of the Presidential Retirement Benefits Act unconstitutional and void.

The section had barred a retired president from holding office in a political party for more than six months after leaving the presidency.

Justice Mwamuye ruled that leaving the presidency does not take away a former president’s constitutional rights as a citizen.

He said a former head of state ceases to exercise the executive and coercive powers of the State once their term ends and thereafter becomes a private citizen.

“The person thereafter stands in a fundamentally different constitutional position: he or she is a private citizen,” Justice Mwamuye said.

The judge further noted that political influence should not be confused with the constitutional authority attached to the office of President.

The case was filed by public-interest groups Sheria Mtaani and Shadrack Wambui, who challenged provisions of the Presidential Retirement Benefits Act on the grounds that they infringed on the constitutional rights of former presidents.

Justice Mwamuye also declared Sections 4(1), 4(2) and 4(3) of the Act unconstitutional. These provisions allowed retirement benefits of former presidents to be withheld, reduced or withdrawn in certain circumstances.

The judge held that a former president’s retirement benefits are constitutionally protected and cannot be varied to their disadvantage through ordinary legislation.

The court also found that the provisions lacked sufficient safeguards where a former president could lose or have their benefits reduced.The ruling comes just days after another High Court judgment concerning the political rights of retired presidents.

On September 14, Justice Lawrence Mugambi upheld Section 6 of the same Act, ruling that a retired president could not hold a political party leadership position beyond six months after leaving office.

However, that ruling did not prevent former presidents from remaining members of political parties or participating in political activities.

Following that decision, Uhuru Kenyatta said he would facilitate the handover of the Jubilee Party leadership.In a statement issued through his office on September 15, Uhuru said the ruling did not amount to a restriction on his political activities.

“The court’s ruling is not a restriction on my political life; it is a reaffirmation of our democratic maturity,” his office said.

Justice Mwamuye’s latest judgment, however, takes a different position from the earlier ruling by Justice Mugambi.

The September 21 decision effectively removes the statutory restriction under Section 6, meaning a retired president cannot be barred from holding a political party office solely on the basis of that provision.

The ruling has direct implications for Uhuru, who has remained involved in Kenya’s political affairs since leaving State House in 2022.

The former president has faced criticism from leaders allied to President William Ruto’s administration, who have accused him of remaining active in politics and supporting opposition activities.

Those leaders have called on Uhuru to respect the position of a retired president and concentrate on his role as a statesman.

The latest court decision, however, affirms that retirement from the presidency ends the former president’s executive authority but does not, by itself, remove the person’s constitutional political rights as a citizen.