NAIROBI, Kenya – Public officers who sidestep Kenyans in law-making or project decisions could soon face fines of up to Sh500,000, under a new Bill that seeks to make citizen consultation a legal obligation rather than a courtesy.
The Public Participation Bill, 2025, which was read for the first time in Parliament on Tuesday, proposes sweeping reforms to standardise how government institutions seek public input and to punish officers who deliberately bypass the process.
The proposed law outlines minimum standards for public notices, accessibility, and feedback, and mandates that every government institution adopt clear guidelines for citizen engagement.
If enacted, it will also create an Office of the Registrar of Public Participation to coordinate and harmonise consultations across national and county governments.
Streamlining Parliament’s consultation process
In a bid to cut duplication, the Bill proposes that only one round of public participation be conducted for Bills considered by both Houses of Parliament.
Currently, committees of the National Assembly and Senate hold separate hearings on the same legislative proposals — often inviting identical witnesses to repeat submissions.
Under the new arrangement, if one House conducts public hearings, the other will rely on its report unless there are substantive amendments warranting further consultation.
Committees may also hold joint hearings on government-sponsored Bills to avoid wasting time and resources.
The Bill, co-sponsored by Rarieda MP Otiende Amollo and Ainabkoi MP Samuel Chepkonga, seeks to “end a persistent source of frustration for citizens and lawmakers” by conserving resources and ensuring meaningful engagement.
Who will be held accountable
The proposed law clearly assigns responsibility for public participation within each arm of government.
- In Parliament, the clerks of both Houses will oversee the process.
- The Chief Registrar of the Judiciary will be in charge of court-related consultations.
- The Attorney General will handle matters within his office.
- Principal Secretaries, Directors of Public Prosecutions, state corporation CEOs, commission heads, county assembly clerks, and governors will be liable for ensuring participation in their respective institutions.
They will be required to notify citizens of planned consultations and provide sufficient time for public submissions before implementing policies, projects, or laws.
Responding to court criticism
The Bill responds to repeated court rulings that have invalidated major government policies and laws for lack of adequate public participation.
Courts have previously halted the introduction of charges for replacing lost national IDs and shelved the appointment of 23 Chief Administrative Secretaries (CASs), citing lack of citizen consultation.
The Supreme Court, in its 2022 advisory during the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) case, stressed that public participation “must not be an illusion, but a meaningful engagement with the people,” and directed Parliament to enact comprehensive legislation to enforce that constitutional requirement.
Fixing a costly gap
Kenya currently lacks a legal framework defining what constitutes adequate public participation.
As a result, more than 2,000 court cases have been filed over flawed or missing consultations, clogging the Judiciary and costing taxpayers millions of shillings.
A government source said the Bill aims to “provide a clear, enforceable standard for citizen engagement” to reduce costly litigation and improve policy legitimacy.
If passed, the law would mark a major shift in Kenya’s governance by making citizen input legally enforceable—and punishing those who treat it as a box-ticking exercise.
