The Cabinet Secretary for the National Treasury has been ordered to provide records of all payments made from the Consolidated Fund to the East African Development Bank (EADB) since 2014. The required documents must be submitted to Parliament within 60 days, following a ruling by the Machakos Constitutional Court.

Justice Rayella Ollel declared parts of the EADB Act, as amended in 2014, unconstitutional due to a lack of sufficient public participation in its drafting. The court found that Sections 2(1) and 2(2) of the Act, which grant the Treasury CS the power to withdraw funds from the Consolidated Fund without parliamentary oversight, breach constitutional principles of transparency, good governance, and accountability.


The ruling was made in response to a petition filed in May 2023 by Paul Lihanda, represented by lawyer Gregory Ndege. The petition sought conservatory orders to halt further disbursements of funds by Treasury CS John Mbadi to EADB. The case named the Central Bank of Kenya, the Auditor General, the Attorney General, and the Treasury CS as respondents.

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In addition to ordering the disclosure of financial records, the court directed the Auditor General to conduct a thorough audit of all funds withdrawn from the Consolidated Fund for EADB since 2014. The audit report is also required to be submitted to Parliament within 60 days.

Lihanda contended that the Treasury CS had unlawfully withdrawn public funds without the approval of the Senate or Parliament, undermining accountability and transparency. The court agreed, ruling that his rights had been violated as a result of these actions.