President Wiliam Ruto assents to Bills at State House, Nairobi, September 8, 2026. /PCS
President William Ruto on Tuesday signed the Kenya National Council for Population and Development Bill, 2023 into law, officially making it an Act of Parliament and giving the Kenya National Council for Population and Development (KNCPD) a statutory foundation.
The legislation is the brainchild of Kimani Ichung’wah, the Leader of the Majority Party in the National Assembly, who sponsored the Bill.
Its key provisions include the establishment of the Council as a body corporate, its composition and administration, handing it statutory mandate to manage population and development matters.
The Act designates the KNCPD as the focal point on matters relating to population and development in the country.
It gives the Council responsibility for developing, reviewing and coordinating the implementation of the national population policy at regular intervals.
The Council is also mandated to coordinate the implementation of population and development activities being undertaken by various stakeholders in Kenya.
It further gives the Council a research and policy role. It is required to carry out research and analysis on population issues and develop, publish and disseminate policies, plans and publications relating to population and development.
The Act also requires the Council to identify population issues that may not be adequately or appropriately addressed and advise the national and county governments on such matters.
Another key provision is the Council's mandate to establish standards for population programmes in the country, strengthening its role in the monitoring and coordination of such programmes.
The new law also provides a statutory basis for the Council, which had previously been established under Legal Notice No. 120 of 2004 through an Executive Order.
The legislation seeks to address the limitations of the previous arrangement, including the Council's inability to set standards for effective monitoring and coordination of population programmes.
The Act further aligns Kenya's population coordination framework with practices in the region, where similar population coordinating bodies have been established through statute, partly in response to international obligations.
It also contains transitional provisions covering the assets, liabilities and staff of the former Council established under the State Corporations (National Council for Population and Development) Order, 2004.
Following the revocation of the 2004 Order, the assets and liabilities of the former Council, together with its staff, are transitioned to the Kenya National Council for Population and Development established under the new Act.
The signing ceremony was held at State House, Nairobi, and was attended by senior government officials, including Cabinet Secretary for the National Treasury and Economic Planning John Mbadi, Principal Secretary for the State Department for Economic Planning Boniface Makokha and other Principal Secretaries.
