CHAPTER X
GENERAL

Resignation

121 —(1) A person who is appointed, elected or otherwise selected to an office established by or under this Constitution may resign from that office by writing under his hand addressed to the person or authority by whom he was appointed, elected or otherwise selected:

Provided that--

(i) the resignation of a person from the office of President shall be addressed to the National Assembly;

(ii) the resignation of a person from the office of Speaker or Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly shall be addressed to the Assembly;

(iii) the resignation of a person from the office of member of the National Assembly or from the office of chairman or member of a committee of the National Assembly shall be addressed to the Speaker of the Assembly.

(2) The resignation of a person from the office as aforesaid shall take effect when the writing signifying the resignation is received by the person or authority to whom it is addressed or a person authorized by that person or authority to receive it.

Reappointments and concurrent appointments

122 —(1) Where a person has vacated an office established by or under this Constitution, he may, if qualified, again be appointed, elected or otherwise selected to hold that office in accordance with this Constitution.

(2) Where this Constitution vests in a person or authority the power to make an appointment to an office (other than the office of Vice-President or Minister), a person may be appointed to that office, notwithstanding that some other person may be holding that office, when that other person is on leave of absence pending the relinquishment of that office; and where two or more persons an holding the same office by reason of an appointment made in pursuance of this subsection then, for the purposes of any function conferred upon the holder of that office, the person last appointed shall be deemed to be the sole holder of the office.

Interpretation

7 of 1982 s. 9

7 of 1984 s. 6

12  of 1991 s. 7

6 of 1992 s. 11

123 —(1) In this Constitution, unless the context otherwise requires-

"the Commonwealth" means Kenya, a country to which section 95 applies and a dependency of any such country;

"district" means one of the districts into which Kenya is divided in the manner prescribed by an Act of Parliament;

"the East African Community" means the East African Community established by Article I of the Treaty for East African Co-operation signed on 6th June, 1967, and includes the corporations specified in Article 71 of that Treaty and the East African Development Bank established by Article 21 of that Treaty;

"financial year" means the period of twelve months ending on 30th June or on such other day as Parliament may prescribe;

"Kenya" means the territory comprised in Kenya on 12th December, 1963 and the territorial waters of Kenya as for the time being defined by an Act of Parliament;

"local authority" means a municipal. county, town or urban council, or a council for any other area, established by or under an Act of Parliament;

"oath" includes affirmation;

"the oath of allegiance" means an oath of allegiance as may be prescribed by Parliament;

"person" includes a body of persons corporate or unincorporate;

"political party" means a political party which is duly registered under any law which requires political parties to be registered, and which has complied with the requirements of any law as to the constitution or rules of political parties nominating candidates for the National Assembly;

"province" means one of the provinces into which Kenya is divided in the manner prescribed by an Act of Parliament;

"public officer" means a person holding or acting in an office in the public service;

"the public service" includes the public service at any time before 12th December. 1963;

"session" means the period beginning when the National Assembly first sits after 11th December, 1963 or after Parliament is prorogued or dissolved at any time and ending when Parliament is prorogued or is dissolved without having been prorogued;

"sitting" means, in relation to the National Assembly, a period during which the Assembly is sitting without adjournment and includes any period during which it is in committee;

"subordinate court" means a court of law in Kenya other than--

(a) the High Court;

(b) a court having jurisdiction to hear appeals from the High Court; or

(c) a court-martial;

"writing" includes printing and any other mode of reproducing words in a visible form.

(2) Except where the context otherwise requires, any powers conferred upon Parliament by this Constitution to establish, provide for or prescribe any matter or thing shall be exercisable by Act of Parliament.

(3) For the purposes of this Constitution, a person shall not be regarded as holding an office by reason only of the fact that he is in receipt of a pension or other similar allowance.

(4) In this Constitution, unless the context otherwise requires, a reference to the holder of an office by the term designating his office shall be construed as including, to the extent of his authority, a reference to any person for the time being authorized to exercise the functions of that office.

(5) Where this Constitution confers a power or imposes a duty, then, unless the contrary intention appears, the power may be exercised and the duty shall be performed from time to time as occasion arises.

(6) Subject to this Constitution, any provision in this Constitution that vests in a person or authority the power to remove a public officer from his office shall be without prejudice to the power of a person or authority to abolish an office or to any law providing for the compulsory retirement of public officers generally or class of public officers on attaining an age specified therein.

(7) Where this Constitution vests in a person or authority the power to appoint a person to act in or to exercise the functions of an office if the holder thereof is himself unable to exercise those functions, no such appointment shall be called in question on the grounds that the holder of the office was not unable to exercise those functions.

(8) No provision of this Constitution that a person or authority shall not be subject to the direction or control of any other person or authority in the exercise of any functions under this Constitution shall be construed as precluding a court from exercising jurisdiction in relation to any question whether that person or authority has exercised those functions in accordance with this Constitution or any other law.

(9) In this Constitution, unless the context otherwise requires-

(a) words importing the masculine gender shall include females;

(b) words in the singular shall include the plural, and words in the plural shall include the singular.

(10) Where an order, regulation or rule, or any amendment or revocation thereof, made under a power conferred by this Constitution comes into operation on a particular day, it shall come into operation at the beginning of that day.

(11) Where a power is conferred by this Constitution !o make an order, regulation or rule or pass a resolution or give a direction or make a declaration or designation, the power shall be construed as including the power, exercisable in the same manner and subject to the same conditions, if any, to amend or revoke the order, regulation, rule, resolution, direction, declaration or designation.

(12) A reference in this Constitution to a law made before 12th December, 1963 shall, unless the context otherwise requires, be construed as a reference to that law as it had effect on 11th December, 1963.

(13) A reference in this Constitution to a law that amends or replaces another law shall be construed as including a reference to a law that modifies, re-enacts, with or without amendment or modification, or makes different provision in place of that other law.