2021 Kenyan constitutional referendum attempt

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The Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) was a proposed set of amendments to the Constitution of Kenya initially proposed in October 2019. In the wake of the 2017 general election annulment and subsequent re-run, incumbent President Uhuru Kenyatta mandated the formation of the Presidential Taskforce on Building Bridges to Unity Advisory on 31 May 2018.^[1] The Taskforce was assigned to provide constitutional and legislative solutions in 9 broad categories:^[2]

1. Lack of National Ethos
2. Ethnic Antagonism and Competition
3. Responsibilities and Rights
4. Shared Prosperity
5. Divisive Elections
6. Safety and Security
7. Devolution
8. Corruption
9. Inclusivity

In October 2019, the Taskforce published their findings,^[1] which were incorporated into the Constitutional Amendment Bill,^[3] introduced in November 2020.^[1][3] The initiative consisted of 78 amendments, spanning 13 of the Constitution's 18 chapters.^[4] After the Bill passed, a Constitutional referendum was scheduled to occur in Kenya in June 2021, per the Kenyan Constitution.^[5]

The referendum, which was approved by 30 of the 47 county assemblies, was halted on 13 May 2021, by a five-judge panel of the High Court of Kenya. In its decision, the court stated that the process by which the referendum was formed was unconstitutional and barred the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission from proceeding with the referendum.^[6][7] In response to this, the Attorney General of Kenya and the Kenyan government filed an appeal of the court's decision, asking that the ruling be overturned.^[8][9]

On 20 August 2021, a seven-judge panel from Kenya's Court of Appeal upheld the High Court's ruling that the BBI process was unconstitutional.^[10]

In September 2021, Kenya's Attorney General's Office filed a notice of appeal announcing that it will challenge the Court of Appeal's ruling, taking the case to Kenya's Supreme Court.^[11]

On 31 March 2022, the Supreme Court of Kenya upheld the rulings of the lower courts, ruling that "The Constitution Amendment Bill of 2020 is unconstitutional," because President Kenyatta 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.^[12][13]