Constitution of Kenya, 2010
259. (1) This Constitution shall be interpreted in a manner Construing this
Constitution.
that—
(a) promotes its purposes, values and principles;
(b) advances the rule of law, and the human rights and
fundamental freedoms in the Bill of Rights;
(c) permits the development of the law; and
(d) contributes to good governance.
(2) If there is a conflict between different language versions of
this Constitution, the English language version prevails.
(3) Every provision of this Constitution shall be construed
according to the doctrine of interpretation that the law is always speaking
and, therefore, among other things—
(a) a function or power conferred by this Constitution on an
office may be performed or exercised as occasion requires,
by the person holding the office;
(b) any reference in this Constitution to a State or other public
office or officer, or a person holding such an office, includes
a reference to the person acting in or otherwise performing
the functions of the office at any particular time;
(c) a reference in this Constitution to an office, State organ or
locality named in this Constitution shall be read with any
formal alteration necessary to make it applicable in the
circumstances; and
(d) a reference in this Constitution to an office, body or
organisation is, if the office, body or organisation has ceased
to exist, a reference to its successor or to the equivalent office,
body or organisation.
(4) In this Constitution, unless the context otherwise requires—
(a) if a word or expression is defined in this Constitution, any
grammatical variation or cognate expression of the word
or expression has a corresponding meaning, read with the
changes required by the context; and
(b) the word “includes” means “includes, but is not limited
to”.
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