Parliament passes public participation bill

The National Assembly has passed the Public Participation Bill (National Assembly Bill No. 44 of 2025), which seeks to put in place a framework for the conduct of public participation.

If passed, it will set out how public participation will be conducted  going forward, with the mandate going to various public entities to avoid over-legislation.

The Bill, which was considered by the National Assembly’s Departmental Committee on Justice and Legal Affairs (JLAC) also proposes principles and general guidelines for conducting public participation and identifies the authorities responsible for organising the same.

The Bill seeks to define the term "public participation" using the scope of application of the national values and principles of governance because the Constitution does not, despite its usage in various Articles.

The provisions of the Bill will apply to the responsible authorities and the public with respect to public participation but will not apply to private individuals or entities that do not make or implement public policy decisions since it would interfere with their privacy and autonomy.

The Bill covers all aspects of governance including budget making and implementation and the formulation and implementation of government projects and programs.

“Similar to participation in elections, public participation is a civic responsibility which helps sustain and expand our democracy. Therefore, any form of financial facilitation for attendance of members of the public is discouraged because it may undermine genuine participation, result in skewed outcomes and create inequality,” JLAC report states.

In planning for public participation exercises, responsible authorities are expected to adhere to the principles of public finance including prudent use of resources.

This has paved the way for its enactment, which is considered critical in terms of better citizen engagement in public governance.

“A responsible authority undertaking a public participation exercise under this Act shall be guided by the principles that The Public Participation Bill, 2025 public participation may be conducted through written submissions, oral hearings, online forums or any other method deemed appropriate to the context,” the Bill states.

It also provides that the public shall be afforded a reasonable chance to express their views; the scope, depth and duration of a public participation exercise shall be commensurate with the complexity, significance and potential impact of the matter under consideration and public resources shall be used in a prudent and responsible manner.

The Bill has also provided who the responsible authorities entail.

In the case of Parliament, the Clerk of the relevant House, for Judiciary it will be the Chief Registrar of the Judiciary, Attorney-General, in the case of the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) it will be DPP and for State Department it will be the relevant Principal Secretary.

For a Constitutional Commission or an Independent Office, the Secretary or the Chief Executive Officer will represent, Executive Officer for a State corporation, Clerk in case of county assembly and Governor for a county executive.

It has been passed at a time of growing debates over the manner in which Government institutions like Parliament, County Assemblies, Constitutional Commissions and other public entities can engage Kenyans better.

The Bill was co-sponsored by Rarieda MP, Otiende Amollo, and his Ainabkoi counterpart Samuel Chepkong’a, who sought to provide a clear legal framework to guide public participation in governance and decision-making across Government entities.

Deputy Leader of Majority Party, Owen Baya said the country has for many years yearned for a public participation bill, with issues on public participation left to be deliberated and adjudicated by courts many times.

According to Baya, many good projects and initiatives have gone under because of lack of public participation and every time people rush to court to get an interpretation on issues of public participation.

“We have lost quite a lot as a country from 2010 because the Constitution enacted in 2010, Parliament never gave law. Therefore, there was arbitrary abuse of the issues of public participation. Any small thing, if you disagree with anything in this country, people will just rush to court to get orders to stop anything on the basis of public participation,” Baya said.

“Courtesy of Members of this 13th Parliament, we now have a public participation bill in place. And I ask everybody else that is on the way of this Bill including assent, so that assent is given so that all these good projects including the Safaricom PLC, Adani deal that went under, including market projects can make progress.

JLAC Chairperson Gitonga Murugara (Tharaka) said the Bill will go a long way in streamlining processes in key government agencies, by ensuring that citizens are better involved in the decision-making processes.

To avoid over legislation, we as a House have given the mandate on public participation to the various government institutions; and it is now up to them to study this Bill once it is assented to and to come up with the specific regulations as guided,” noted Murugara.

MPs stressed the need for meaningful public participation that goes beyond the procedural requirements in decision making across Government entities in addition to the need for easy accessibility of documents related to the public participation processes in languages that Kenyans can understand, including the enhanced use of sign language. 

Prior to tabling the report on the Bill, the Committee undertook a public participation exercise, including consideration of stakeholder views as well as nationwide public hearings where Kenyans also weighed in on diverse recommendations of the proposed Law.

The Committee conducted a public hearings exercise in March in 24 counties, namely, Mombasa, Kwale, Kilifi, Tana River, Isiolo, Meru, Embu, Machakos, Makueni, Nyeri, Kiambu, Uasin Gishu, Laikipia, Nakuru, Kajiado, Kericho, Kakamega, Vihiga, Bungoma, Busia, Kisumu, Kisii, Nyamira and Nairobi.

The committee observed that though civic education and public participation are related, they are distinct concepts.

“Public participation is an indispensable element of democracy that binds all State organs, State officers, public officers and all persons making and implementing public policy decisions. Civic education is the process of informing and educating citizens about their rights and duties whereas public participation is active involvement of the public in decision-making processes,” the report states.