The Bill is now before the Senate. Review the key sections below and submit your comments before the deadline of the 28th of September.
Background
Over the years, public participation in Kenya has continued to evolve through practice, legislation and court decisions. A significant milestone in this journey was the 2010 Constitution, which elevated participation of the people to a national value and principle of governance and established specific obligations for public participation in Parliament, counties and other areas of public decision-making. This constitutional foundation has played a key role in strengthening public participation while also highlighting the continued need to make it more meaningful, inclusive and effective in practice.
In 2023 and 2024, efforts to establish a dedicated legal framework gained momentum, including the development of successive Public Participation Bills and broader stakeholder consultations. In 2025, the process continued with the Public Participation Bill, 2025, which seeks to provide a general framework for effective public participation across government.
In 2026, the National Assembly's Justice and Legal Affairs Committee undertook nationwide public participation on the Bill, and the National Assembly passed it in August 2026. The Bill was subsequently read for the first time in the Senate on 8 September 2026 and committed to the Standing Committee on Justice, Legal Affairs and Human Rights, and a call for submission of comments put out with a deadline of 28th September.
Key Sections of the Bill
A quick walk through the parts of the Public Participation Bill, 2025.
| Section / Part of the Bill | Key Pointers |
|---|---|
| Part I – Preliminary | Establishes the short title and key terms used throughout the Bill, explains why the Bill is being proposed, and sets out the principles of public participation that should guide meaningful, inclusive and effective engagement. |
| Part II – Responsible Authorities | Identifies the public institutions and officials responsible for facilitating public participation under the Bill, including Parliament, county assemblies, constitutional commissions and independent offices, the Judiciary, national and county government offices, State corporations, and any person or entity making or implementing a public policy decision. |
| Part III – General Guidelines For Public Participation | Sets out general guidelines for carrying out public participation. |
| Part IV – Specific Guidelines For Public Participation | Provides for institution-specific guidelines for conducting public participation, while requiring them to comply with the general guidelines in Part III as well as specific provisions for public participation in Parliament. |
| Part V – Miscellaneous Provisions | Covers information protection, data privacy, court oversight of public participation processes, and transitional arrangements under the Bill. |
Top Line Comments
Our shorthand on the Bill. Hover a comment and hit copy, then paste it into any submission as your own view.
The Bill currently does not provide clear penalties or enforcement mechanisms for non-compliance. Establishing clear penalties and enforcement mechanisms ensures that the obligations set out in the Bill are effectively complied with and not treated as merely procedural requirements.
Clarifying the rights of participants ensures they can engage freely without fear of retaliation, discrimination, or exclusion. This promotes a rights-based approach to public participation and aligns with international human rights standards, by recognizing and safeguarding these rights, the Bill ensures that all individuals, regardless of socioeconomic status, gender, disability, or background, can equally contribute to governance processes.
A strong public participation law requires clarity on what public participation means, what it seeks to achieve, and the values and principles that should guide it. Clauses 2, 3 and 5 provide this foundation, but can be strengthened to ensure that the Bill defines participation as more than an opportunity to submit views, sets clear objectives for meaningful engagement, and anchors the process in access to information, inclusion, diversity, equity, transparency, accountability and feedback. Together, these provisions should establish a clear standard against which public participation is understood, implemented and assessed.
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