The Ministry of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs has announced it will prepare and re-submit a fresh legal notice to Parliament following the National Assembly’s decision to annul privileges and immunities granted to the Global Centre for Adaptation (GCA).
In a public notice dated March 2, 2026, Principal Secretary for Foreign Affairs Korir Sing’Oei said the ministry had taken note of the National Assembly’s February 24 decision adopting a report of the Parliamentary Committee on Delegated Legislation that nullified Legal Notice No. 82 of 2025.
The annulled legal notice had granted privileges and immunities to the Global Centre for Adaptation pursuant to Section 11 of the Privileges and Immunities Act, Cap 179 of the Laws of Kenya.
The ministry defended the process leading to the granting of the privileges, stating that it was undertaken in accordance with the law.
It noted that the Host Country Agreement between the Government of Kenya and the Global Centre for Adaptation was signed on February 10, 2025.
According to the notice, the legal instrument was published on May 2, 2025, submitted to the Clerk of the National Assembly on May 30, and tabled in Parliament on June 4, 2025, before being referred to the Parliamentary Departmental Committee on Environment, Forestry and Mining for consideration.
The ministry further stated that on July 9, 2025, Parliament published a notice in local dailies inviting public comments on the proposed grant of privileges and immunities as required under Article 118(1)(b) of the Constitution.
Ministry officials later appeared before the departmental committee on August 8, 2025, to justify the legal basis for the grant.
In its September 25, 2025 report, the committee found that the legal notice was compliant with the Constitution and enabling legislation and recommended that the National Assembly approve the privileges and immunities granted to the GCA.
However, the Parliamentary Committee on Delegated Legislation later invited the Prime Cabinet Secretary and the Cabinet Secretary for Foreign and Diaspora Affairs to appear before it on December 4, 2025.
The ministry said the committee proceeded to produce a report without hearing from the Prime Cabinet Secretary or any ministry representative after being informed of their unavailability due to official duties.
The ministry argued that the annulment was premised on a technical interpretation of Section 17 of the Privileges and Immunities Act, which requires a draft legal notice to be tabled in Parliament.
It maintained that Section 11(1) of the Statutory Instruments Act, Cap 2A, only requires a Cabinet Secretary to transmit a copy of the statutory instrument to Parliament after publication.
“This implies that the statutory instrument should be signed before it is submitted to Parliament,” the notice stated, adding that in the event of any conflict in interpretation, the Statutory Instruments Act, enacted in 2013, would prevail over the Privileges and Immunities Act of 1970 as the later legislation.
Despite its reservations, the ministry said it would comply with the National Assembly’s decision.
“A new draft of legal notice will be prepared and submitted to Parliament as has been guided pursuant to Section 17 of the Privileges and Immunities Act,” Sing’ Oei said.
The ministry emphasised that the nullification does not affect the previous activities of the Global Centre for Adaptation in Kenya and reaffirmed its commitment to positioning Kenya as a hub for multilateral diplomacy and international organizations.
