The National Assembly has approved the Public Participation Bill, 2025, paving the way for the enactment of the Law deemed crucial for better citizen engagement in public governance.
This marks a significant step in efforts to strengthen citizen involvement in decisions made by government institutions.
The Bill, sponsored by Rarieda MP Otiende Amollo and Ainabkoi MP Samuel Chepkong’a, seeks to establish a clearer and more consistent framework for public participation across national and county government institutions.
Parliament’s official records identify it as National Assembly Bill No. 44 of 2025.
National Assembly’s Departmental Committee on Justice and Legal Affairs (JLAC) proposes principles and general guidelines for conducting public participation and identifies the authorities responsible for organising the same.
JLAC Chairperson and Tharaka MP Gitonga Murugara told the House that the Bill, if assented to, would 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.
The proposed law comes against the background of continuing debate over whether public participation in Kenya has always been meaningful or, in some cases, merely a procedural exercise.
The Constitution requires Parliament to facilitate public participation in its legislative business, while citizens have increasingly demanded greater opportunities to influence decisions affecting their lives.
The Bill proposes principles and general guidelines for conducting public participation and identifies the authorities responsible for organising the process. It also provides for responsible institutions to develop more specific guidelines suited to their mandates.
The National Assembly’s Departmental Committee on Justice and Legal Affairs invited Kenyans to submit views and conducted public hearings across counties, including Nakuru, Makueni, Tana River, Vihiga, Kisumu, Nairobi, Bungoma, Embu and Uasin Gishu.
For participation to have meaning, MPs say citizens must receive relevant information early enough, understand the proposals before them and have a reasonable opportunity to influence the final decision.
Accessibility of information has consequently emerged as a major concern. Parliamentary debate has emphasised the need for documents used during participation exercises to be available in languages that ordinary Kenyans can understand.
The enhanced use of Kenyan Sign Language has also been raised as an important component of inclusive participation.
This issue is particularly important because technical government documents can be difficult for ordinary citizens to interpret.
A public participation meeting can therefore become ineffective if residents are presented with complex documents without adequate explanation.
The Bill also raises questions about who should be responsible for organising participation.
Rather than creating an excessively centralised system, the proposal assigns responsibility to the relevant government institutions and provides a framework within which they can develop specific regulations.
