General

Kenya is a parliamentary democracy with an Executive President who is directly elected by the people.  Political power is shared evenly among the three branches of government namely the Executive, the Legislature and the Judiciary.

The Executive

Executive power is held by the President who is the Head of State, Head of Government and Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces.  He is directly elected by the people for a five-year term limited to two terms.  He appoints the Cabinet from among members of the National Assembly.  The Executive initiates and determines national policies. 

The Legislature

The National Assembly is the supreme law-making body consisting of 210 elected members each representing a political constituency, twelve nominated members representing special interests and two ex-officio members namely the Speaker and the Attorney General.  The Speaker is elected by the National Assembly to preside over its sessions, and the Attorney General is appointed by the President.  The President is himself an elected member of the National Assembly.  Collectively, the National Assembly plus the President form the Parliament.

The Judiciary

The Judiciary is the law-interpreting body and settles disputes.  It is independent of both the Executive and the Legislature.  It has a High Court which, as the superior court of record, has unlimited original jurisdiction in civil and criminal matters.  The Court of Appeal is a superior court of record having jurisdiction over all appeals from the High Court.  The offices of judges of the High Court and of the Court of Appeal are constitutionally protected.