The national government is composed of three distinct branches:[1] The Legislature (Parliament), the Executive and the Judiciary.

Each arm is independent of the other and their individual roles are set by the Constitution of Kenya while their powers and duties are further defined by acts of Parliament.

In order to be elected as a member of the National Assembly, an individual must be registered as a voter, satisfies any requirements prescribed by the Constitution or by an act of Parliament and is nominated by a political party, or is an independent candidate.

In contrast, the Senate is made up of 47 Senators representing each of the 47 counties, 16 women nominated by political parties according to the parties' proportions in the Senate, one man and woman to represent the youth, one man and women to represent persons with disabilities, and the Speaker, who is also an ex-officio member like the National Assembly's Speaker.

However, both Houses' approval is required in any matter so determined by an act of Parliament, such as presidential appointments to the Executive and Judiciary, military officers and ambassadors.

The National Assembly with at least a third of all the members, may set in motion an act to impeach the President.

The National Assembly may do so on the grounds of gross violation of the Constitution or any other law, where there is reasons to believing that the President has committed a crime under national or international law or for gross misconduct.

[4] The incumbent is Kithure Kindiki who as William Ruto is part of the Kenya Kwanza.

[8] All civil servants[9] e.g. teachers in public schools or diplomats fall under one of the ministries in the Cabinet.

[11] All Judges, including the Chief Justice and the Deputy Chief Justice, are selected by the Judicial Service Commission Archived 13 October 2020 at the Wayback Machine but are officially appointed by the President.

However, over the next few years Kenya slowly transitioned from being a democracy to being a one-party state.

Kenyatta's regime greatly oversaw the gradual limitation of the democratic system.

Kenyatta died in 1978; his vice President Moi took over and in 1982 the country was officially made a one-party state with every other party being outlawed.

Uhuru Kenyatta, the fourth president won and his coalition the Jubilee Alliance controlled the majority in both houses of Parliament, i.e. the National Assembly and the Senate.

The incumbent president William Ruto won the 2022 general elections and his coalition Kenya Kwanza now controls the majority in both houses of Parliament, i.e. the National Assembly and the Senate.

The state allows universal suffrage based on the aspiration for fair representation and equality.

[2] Functions and duties not assigned by the Constitution automatically become the National governments responsibility.