Kenya: Court of Appeal Clears Kenya-U.S. Health Deal for Implementation Pending Appeal

What the report says

A Kenyan appellate court has allowed the government to move ahead with a health cooperation framework with the United States while an appeal is pending, reversing High Court orders that had paused the programme on constitutional grounds. According to the Capital FM report distributed by AllAfrica, the decision was issued by a three-judge bench in Nairobi and centered on whether the public interest in preserving healthcare services outweighed the risks of letting the deal proceed before the legal challenge is resolved.

The framework, signed by Kenya and the United States on December 4, 2025, is tied to the supply of essential medicines, health support and related services used by millions of people. The government said suspending it could affect programmes reaching about 1.4 million Kenyans and disrupt treatment for HIV, tuberculosis and malaria, along with immunisation, staffing and medical supply systems. The court said interrupting those services could cause serious and possibly irreversible harm, and that stopping implementation could make the appeal ineffective if resources were shifted before the case is heard.

Opponents of the framework, including constitutional activist Okiya Omtatah Okoiti and the Katiba Institute, argued that the agreement raises issues involving privacy, data protection, public finance, devolution and Parliament’s role in approving binding international commitments. The appellate court did not decide those substantive questions, saying only that the suspension orders should not remain in force while the appeal proceeds.

The ruling leaves Kenya able to continue the health programme for now, while the broader constitutional dispute remains before the courts.