Court declines to certify as urgent case seeking records of Finance Bill 2026 votes

Justice Patricia Nyaudi Nyaundi has instead directed that the main case be fast-tracked, saying this would be in the interest of justice and ensure “the prudent utilisation of scarce judicial time.”

The case has been filed by Francis Awino, who wants Parliament to preserve and provide official records showing which lawmakers were present and how they participated in crucial votes.

Awino wants the National Assembly and Senate to preserve records such as attendance registers, voting records, electronic voting reports, Hansard and documents showing whether lawmakers were on authorised leave.

The case follows reports published in June 2026 about the final vote on the Finance Bill 2026.

According to the court papers, media reports indicated that 122 MPs voted for the Bill, 40 voted against it, while between 186 and 187 MPs did not take part in the vote.

But Awino says he is not accusing individual MPs of wrongdoing.

He says the media reports only raise questions that should be answered using official parliamentary records.

“I don't rely on them as conclusive proof of the exact number of non-participating Members, the status of individual Members, the reasons for their non-participation, coordination or individual wrongdoing,” Awino says.

His main concern is that the records could be lost or become difficult to verify if they are not preserved.

“There is a real risk that electronic material, audit logs, attendance data, leave approvals and other documentary material may be altered, overwritten, dispersed, rendered difficult to retrieve,” he says.

Awino says the matter is important because Parliament continues to pass laws that directly affect ordinary Kenyans, including laws dealing with taxes, public spending, healthcare, education, security and county governments.

He says the case is not asking the court to tell MPs how to vote.

“The Petition doesn't seek an order requiring any Member of Parliament or Senator to vote Aye or No,” he says.

Instead, he wants Parliament to have a transparent and verifiable system showing how lawmakers participate in important votes.

He is also asking the court to consider whether MPs and Senators should, in exceptional circumstances, be allowed to participate remotely through a system that can verify their identity and record their votes.

Justice Nyaundi has directed Awino to serve the petition on the respondents by September 7.

The respondents will have until September 22 to respond. Awino will then file his further affidavit and submissions by September 29, while the respondents will file their submissions by October 8.

The applicant has also been allowed to file supplementary submissions by October 12.

The case will be mentioned for highlighting of submissions on October 15, 2026.