County Assembly of Kiambu Releases Hansard Report
The County Assembly of Kiambu has finally made copies of the Hansard Report available following intervention by the Commission under the Access to Information Act, 2016.
The law firm Emsi and Associates submitted an application for review to the Commission after the County Assembly of Kiambu failed to provide copies of the Hansard and make public Hansard Reports related to the debate and approval of Tatu City’s Masterplan in the final version of the Ruiru Integrated Development Plans for November and December, 2024.
“The failure is in direct contravention of Article 35 of the Constitution, which guarantees every citizen the right of access to information held by the State or by another person required for the exercise and protection of any fundamental right or freedom. Section 87 of the County Governments Act, 2012, obligates county governments to facilitate meaningful citizen participation and access to timely and relevant information, while Section 6 of the ATI Act, 2016 compels public entities to proactively disclose information concerning their operations, including legislative deliberations, decisions, and policies. By withholding Hansard Reports from the public domain, the County Assembly of Kiambu effectively curtails the capacity of citizens, CSOs, researchers, journalists, and other stakeholders to stay informed about legislative developments, verify decisions made, and engage meaningfully in policy discourse. We therefore respectfully request that the Commission on Administrative Justice investigate this matter and exercise its mandate to compel the County Assembly of Kiambu to comply with its legal obligations on transparency and accountability,” read the application for review.
The Commission took up the matter with the Clerk of the County Assembly of Kiambu and requested a response within seven days. The Clerk did not respond, prompting the Commission to invoke its powers under Article 252(3) of the Constitution and Section 23(1)(a) of the Access to Information Act by issuing a summons to the Clerk on 15th August 2025, requiring appearance before the Commission on 5th September 2025. However, before the summons materialised, the Clerk released the information to the Commission for onward transmission to the law firm.
“We wish to apologise for the delay in releasing the information to the Applicant. This was occasioned by procedural technicalities concerning the dissemination of Privileged Information. Given the aforementioned, pursuant to Section 13 of the County Assembly Powers and Privileges Act No. 6 of 2017, as read with Standing Order No. 257 of the County Assembly of Kiambu Orders, we hereby forward the information sought by the Applicant,” read the letter from the Clerk to the Commission.