Bill setting new public participation rules passes Parliament: what changes mean for Kenyans

The National Assembly has passed the Public Participation Bill, 2025, setting out a proposed legal framework for how Kenyans should be informed, consulted and allowed to give their views on government decisions.

The Bill, sponsored by Rarieda MP Otiende Amollo and Ainabkoi MP Samuel Chepkong’a, was approved by the House on Wednesday, August 12, and now awaits Presidential assent before it can become law. Parliament’s records identify it as National Assembly Bill No. 44 of 2025.

If enacted, the law would apply to public participation undertaken by national and county government institutions, Parliament, the Judiciary, constitutional commissions, independent offices, State corporations and other bodies responsible for making or implementing public policy decisions.

At the center of the proposed framework is a requirement that public participation should give citizens an opportunity to express their views on matters affecting them.

The Bill defines public participation as the process of “engaging the public in making or implementing public policy decisions including the enactment of legislation.”

The proposed law sets out several requirements for institutions conducting public participation.

Before an exercise begins, the responsible authority would have to give the public reasonable notice.

The notice would be required to provide information including the subject matter of the exercise, its duration and whether members of the public can make submissions orally, in writing or through both methods.

The Bill allows institutions to use television, radio, the internet, mobile phones, official websites, social media, public meetings, notice boards and print media to notify the public.

In addition, the proposed framework allows Kenyans to submit their views in writing, orally, through online platforms or during public hearings, workshops, seminars and conferences.

The time given for submissions would have to be reasonable.

The law would also require the authority conducting the exercise to consider factors such as the number of people likely to be affected, the impact of the matter, the ability of the public to access relevant information and the need for inclusive representation.

One of the provisions directly affecting how Kenyans participate is access to information about the matter being discussed.

The Bill, as amended during consideration by the National Assembly, provides for prior access to documents relating to the matter under consideration, including simplified versions of those documents.

This means that where an institution is seeking public views on a policy, proposed law or other decision, the information forming the basis of the consultation would be made available to the public before the exercise.

The Bill also provides that where participants in a public hearing are not conversant with English or Kiswahili, the responsible authority must take measures to conduct the exercise in a language they understand.

The proposed framework does not stop at collecting submissions. A responsible authority would be required to analyze and take into account the submissions received from the public.

The Bill originally provided for publication of the outcome of the exercise. During consideration of amendments, this provision was changed to require the responsible authority to prepare a report “as soon as is practicable after the conclusion of a public participation exercise.”

The framework therefore sets out stages covering notification, submission of views, consideration of those submissions and reporting after the exercise.

The Bill assigns responsibility for public participation to specific offices.

For Parliament, responsibility would lie with each House; for county assemblies, the respective county assembly; and for county executives, the Governor.

The framework also covers the Judiciary, Attorney-General, Director of Public Prosecutions, State departments, State corporations, constitutional commissions and independent offices.

Institutions would be allowed to develop their own specific public participation guidelines, but those guidelines would have to comply with the general requirements set by the law.

The Bill provides separately for public participation by Parliament.

It requires Parliament to conduct its business openly, with sittings and committee proceedings open to the public, and to facilitate public participation in its legislative and other business.

Where a committee in one House has already conducted public participation on a Bill, a committee in the other House may rely on the report or seek additional views where substantive amendments have been made.

The provisions also allow parliamentary committees to take measures to avoid duplicating public participation exercises already conducted by the originating House.

The version considered by the House included a provision allowing the High Court to void a public participation exercise conducted in willful violation of the proposed law.

The National Assembly’s published amendments also removed the earlier general penalty clause and inserted the provision giving the High Court that power.

The Bill is therefore moving from a framework that primarily sets out how public participation should be conducted to one that also provides a mechanism through which a process conducted in deliberate violation of the law could be challenged.

For Kenyans, the proposed framework sets out a defined process: notice before participation, access to relevant information, opportunities to submit views, consideration of those submissions and reporting on the exercise.

The Bill’s stated objective is to “enhance, promote and facilitate the participation of the people in governance” as provided for under the Constitution.

If assented to by the President, the Public Participation Bill, 2025, will provide the statutory framework governing how that participation is conducted across Kenya’s public institutions.