NAIROBI, Kenya- A Nairobi-based lawyer has moved to the High Court seeking to force Parliament and related offices to reveal how much public money was spent on the 2025 National Prayer Breakfast and to block the use of public funds for the 2026 edition of the event.
In a constitutional petition filed before the Constitutional and Human Rights Division in Nairobi, advocate Lempaa Suyianka has sued the Parliamentary Service Commission (PSC), the National Assembly, the Senate, the Attorney General and the Commission on Administrative Justice.
Suyianka argues that the respondents have violated his constitutional right of access to information by failing to disclose details of public expenditure linked to the National Prayer Breakfast, an annual event organised under the auspices of Parliament.
According to court documents, the lawyer made a formal request for information on March 13, 2025, writing to the Clerk of the National Assembly to seek disclosure of the costs incurred in organising the 2025 event.
The request, made under the Freedom of Information framework, was allegedly declined.
He states that he followed up the matter in June 2025 by writing to the clerks of both the National Assembly and the Senate.
The petition further notes that in July 2025, the Commission on Administrative Justice intervened, formally urging the two clerks to release the requested information.
Despite this, Suyianka says the clerks directed him to seek the information from the Parliamentary Service Commission.
He claims that in October 2025, the PSC responded by stating that the National Prayer Breakfast was captured in its annual budget estimates tabled in Parliament under Article 221 of the Constitution, but did not disclose the specific amount spent on the 2025 event.
The lawyer now contends that the continued failure to provide the information breaches Articles 35(1)(a) and 35(3) of the Constitution, which guarantee the right of access to information held by the state.
He also argues that the refusal undermines the national values of transparency and accountability enshrined in Article 10.
In his petition, Suyianka further challenges Parliament’s role in organising the National Prayer Breakfast, arguing that it offends the doctrine of separation of powers.
He maintains that spending public funds on the event amounts to imprudent use of public resources, contrary to the principles of public finance set out in Article 201 of the Constitution.
The petition also takes issue with the Commission on Administrative Justice, accusing it of failing to fully enforce its constitutional and statutory mandate to compel disclosure of the information sought.
Among the orders sought, Suyianka wants the court to declare that the respondents violated the Constitution, compel them to disclose the full expenditure details for the 2025 National Prayer Breakfast, and issue an injunction barring the use of public funds to organise the 2026 edition of the event.
The matter is yet to be scheduled for hearing.
