Nubian Rights Forum & 2 others v Attorney General & 6 others; Child Welfare Society & 9 others (Interested Parties) [2020] eKLR [57] “[T]his Court is enjoined under Article 259 of the Constitution to interpret the Constitution in a manner that promotes its purposes, values and principles, advances the rule of law, human rights and fundamental freedoms in the Bill of Rights and that contributes to good governance. In exercising its judicial authority, this Court is obliged under Article 159(2)(e) of the Constitution to protect and promote the purpose and principles of the Constitution. In determining whether a statute is constitutional, the court must determine the object and purpose of the impugned statute for it is important to discern the intention expressed in the Act itself (see Murang’a Bar Operators and Another v Minister of State for Provincial Administration and Internal Security and Others Nairobi Petition No. 3 of 2011 [2011]eKLR, Samuel G. Momanyi v Attorney General and Another (supra)). Further, in examining whether a particular statutory provision is unconstitutional, the court must have regard not only to its purpose but also its effect… [59] Fourth, the Constitution should be given a purposive, liberal interpretation...Lastly and fundamentally, it is the principle that the provisions of the Constitution must be read as an integrated whole, without any one particular provision destroying the other but each sustaining the other (see Tinyefuza v Attorney General of Uganda Constitutional Petition No. 1 of 1997 (1997 UGCC 3)). We are duly guided by the principles we have outlined and we accept that while interpreting the impugned legislation alongside the Constitution, we must bear in mind our peculiar circumstances. Ours must be a liberal approach that promotes the rule of law and has jurisprudential value that must take into account the spirit of the Constitution.” 547. Similarly, the Canadian Supreme Court stated in R v Big M Drug Mart Ltd., [1985] 1 S.C.R. 295 that: ‘Both purpose and effect are relevant in determining constitutionality; either an unconstitutional purpose or an unconstitutional effect can invalidate legislation. All legislation is animated by an object the legislature intends to achieve. This object is realized through impact produced by the operation and application of the legislation. Purpose and effect respectively, in the sense of the legislation’s object and its ultimate impact, are clearly linked, if not indivisible. Intended and achieved effects have been looked to for guidance in assessing the legislation’s object and thus the validity.’ 548. The Constitution should also be interpreted in a holistic manner that entails reading one provision alongside other provisions, and considering the historical perspective, purpose, and intent of the provisions in question. In Re the Matter of Kenya National Commission on Human Rights [2014] eKLR, the Supreme Court considered the meaning of “a holistic interpretation of the Constitution,” and stated: “[26] But what is meant by a ‘holistic interpretation of the Constitution’" It must mean interpreting the Constitution in context. It is the contextual analysis of a constitutional provision, reading it alongside and against other provisions, so as to maintain a rational explication of what the Constitution must be taken to mean in light of its history, of the issues in dispute, and of the prevailing circumstances. Such scheme of interpretation does not mean an unbridled extrapolation of discrete constitutional provisions into each other, so as to arrive at a desired result.” 549. Courts have consistently affirmed that a holistic interpretation of the Constitution calls for the investigation of the historical, economic, social, cultural and political background of the provision in question. This view was expressed by the Supreme Court in Communications Commission of Kenya & 5 Others v. Royal Media Services Limited & 5 Others, [2015] eKLR, that: “the Constitution should be interpreted in a holistic manner, within its context, and in its spirit.” The Supreme Court in interpreting the Constitution took into consideration the historical, economic, social and political background of the Articles it had been called upon to consider.” 550. In The Speaker of The Senate & Another vs. Honourable Attorney General & Others, [2013] eKLR, http://www.kenyalaw.org - Page 83/174