Environment Ministry withdraws new regulations after Senate pushback
The Ministry of Environment, Climate Change and Forestry has formally withdrawn the controversial Legal Notice No. 71 of 2025, following pressure from the Senate and public stakeholders.
In a statement posted on the Parliament’s Facebook page on Monday, July 28, 2025, lawmakers announced that the ministry’s Principal Secretary, Dr Festus Ng’eno, while appearing before the Senate Committee on Delegated Legislation, confirmed the withdrawal of the regulations tabled under the Environmental Management and Coordination (Strategic and Integrated Environmental Assessments and Environmental Audits) framework.
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“The Ministry of Environment, Climate Change and Forestry has bowed to pressure and withdrawn Legal Notice No. 71 Environmental Management and Coordination (Strategic and Integrated Environmental Assessments and Environmental Audits) Regulations, 2025,” the statement reads.
Concerns raised
The withdrawal announcement comes after the Senate Committee on Delegated Legislation, chaired by Senator Mwenda Gataya, had given the ministry an ultimatum to revisit the proposed regulations in light of public concerns or face annulment.
“We, as a Committee, have a straightforward mandate. After thorough scrutiny of these Regulations, we must either annul them or allow them; there is no third option,” Senator Gataya warned, as quoted in the statement.
The Environment Institute of Kenya (EIK) had also petitioned Parliament for the regulations to be halted, arguing they lacked transparency and adequate stakeholder input.
The EIK called for a full legal review, compliance with the Statutory Instruments Act of 2013, and a structured consultation with environmental professionals.
“The EIK also recommended immediate suspension or annulment of the regulations and requested a formal hearing for environmental professionals and stakeholders to offer input and propose reforms,” the statement adds.
Broader consultations
In his submission on Monday, Ng’eno explained that the withdrawal was necessary to allow for broader consultations with stakeholders due to the concerns that had been raised.
“We have resolved to withdraw the Legal Notice No. 71 of 2025 after we realised that we were heading nowhere. We have done that to allow more consultations and involvement of all the stakeholders,” Ng’eno stated.
The Principal Secretary also informed senators that the ministry had already notified the Clerk of the Senate about this decision and would formally communicate the withdrawal to the National Assembly on Tuesday, July 29, 2025.
“The Ministry wishes to have the Legal Notice withdrawn from the legislative process so as to facilitate further public consultation processes, being the outcome of further stakeholder deliberations. We endeavour to table the Statutory Instrument before the House at the appropriate time,” an official letter to Parliament from the Ministry states.
Parliamentary response
Following the Principal Secretary’s announcement, Committee members welcomed the Ministry’s decision but urged the government to expedite the gazettement of the withdrawal while emphasising future adherence to legislative procedures.
The Senators also called on the Ministry to avoid a repeat of what they termed a premature and exclusionary regulatory rollout.
The committee session was attended by several senators, including Mohamed Faki (Mombasa), Betty Montet, Daniel Maanzo (Makueni), and Issa Musa Boy (Kwale).
