Tanui faces backlash over practitioners Bill
Representatives of the Interior Designers Association of Kenya (IDAK), Association of Construction Managers of Kenya (ACMK) and The Architects Alliance during a press briefing in Nairobi, where they called for the resignation of Housing, Urban Planning and Public Works Committee chairperson Joseph K. Tanui over the Architectural and Quantity Surveying Practitioners Bill, 2026.
Three built-environment professional associations have called for the immediate resignation of Housing, Urban Planning and Public Works Committee chairperson Joseph Tanui over his role in sponsoring the Architectural and Quantity Surveying Practitioners Bill, 2026.
The Interior Designers Association of Kenya (IDAK), Association of Construction Managers of Kenya (ACMK) and The Architects Alliance said Tanui’s dual role as committee chairperson and sponsor of the Bill raises concerns over a potential conflict of interest.
The groups are opposing the Bill in its current form, arguing that it proposes to regulate several distinct professions under a single regulatory board despite differences in training, competencies, scopes of practice and professional responsibilities.
Speaking during a joint press briefing in Nairobi on Monday, Association of Construction Managers of Kenya chairperson Ephraim Kakui said the professionals were not opposed to regulation but wanted a better framework.
“We are not opposing regulation. We are demanding better regulation,” Kakui said.
They said the proposed framework covers architects, quantity surveyors, interior designers, landscape architects, construction project managers and technicians, raising concerns over whether each profession would have adequate representation and meaningful self-regulation.
“Our concern is simple: one profession should not effectively regulate another profession,” Kakui said.
The associations argued that having a single representative for a profession on a broad regulatory board does not amount to effective professional self-regulation.
“Representation by a single member on a broad Board is not the same as meaningful professional self-regulation.”
They further warned that leaving issues such as professional fees, education standards, examinations, licensing, discipline and scopes of practice to one regulatory structure could create conflicts, duplication and uncertainty within the built environment sector.
The groups want Parliament to suspend consideration of the Bill and undertake a wider review of proposed reforms affecting built-environment professions.
They are also calling for previous research and policy proposals on the regulation of built-environment professions to be formally considered before Parliament proceeds with the current Bill.
The associations cited work undertaken through the Coalition of Built Environment Professionals, including research associated with Professor Alfred Omenya, saying the proposals should inform a new regulatory framework.
They want Parliament to convene an inclusive national stakeholder process to develop clear scopes of practice and professional responsibilities for the various disciplines.
The organisations said Kenya needs a comprehensive Built Environment Professions framework that provides coordinated regulation while maintaining profession-specific regulatory structures.
They stressed that their opposition was not against regulation but against what they termed an inappropriate regulatory model.
“This is not a fight between professions. It is about getting regulation right,” the statement read.
The associations said the objective should be to strengthen professional autonomy, accountability and public protection rather than create a hierarchy in which one profession effectively regulates another.
“Kenya needs coordinated regulation, professional autonomy, clear accountability and public protection not professional hierarchy,” Kakui said.
They have therefore asked the National Assembly to reject the Architectural and Quantity Surveying Practitioners Bill, 2026 in its present form and initiate a comprehensive process to develop legislation governing Kenya’s built-environment professions.
They also demanded Tanui’s immediate resignation, citing his position as chairperson of the Departmental Committee on Housing, Urban Planning and Public Works and his role as sponsor of the Bill.
Also present during the briefing were Interior Designers Association of Kenya president Dr George Washington Karani and IDAK chief executive officer Isaac Mwashinga Ibrahim, alongside other representatives of the three professional associations.
