Category: Citizen Rights

Public participation gives citizens the opportunity to influence decision-making when it comes to governance processes at the county level. It is a two-way process because the government provides the opportunity for citizens to get involved and citizens choose whether to utilize that opportunity or not. In Kenya, public participation in governance is well articulated in the constitution and in other supporting legislations. 

Article 10 of the Constitution highlights public participation as a principle and value of good governance. Further, in Article 201(a), the constitution highlights public participation as among the principles that guide public finance in addition to openness and accountability in financial matters. Sections 30 and 32 of the County Government Act task governors with the responsibility of promoting and facilitating citizen participation in the development of county policies and plans as well as service delivery. Governors are also expected to submit annual reports to county assemblies highlighting how citizens participate in public affairs within the county. Public participation offers numerous benefits to citizens and the country at large. These benefits include: 

1. Opportunity for citizens to inform county priorities

Involving citizens in decision-making processes at the county level results ensures that they have a chance to decide what the county should prioritize. This leads to planning that responds to citizen needs because county governments are able to focus resources on the issues that matter most to citizens. For the public, this means better access to quality services, better governance, and development.

2. Public participation reduces corruption

When citizens participate in governance processes, they are able to monitor how public resources are utilized and hold public officers to account for the delivery of services. By doing so, citizens would ensure rational utilization of public resources and provide a safeguard against wastage and leakage of funds due to corruption.

3. Public participation empowers marginalized groups  

Through public participation, marginalized groups such as the poor in the community and those that are underrepresented in political spheres like the youth, women, and children get empowered. Forums for public participation forums provide excellent platforms that introduce mechanisms for amplifying the voice of citizens on matters that affect them most. Consequently, this can help reduce poverty and lead to sustainable development.

4. Increase government revenue

For the government, public participation is critical in boosting revenue collection. By helping citizens get a better understanding of the budgeting process, county governments help citizens understand the financial limitations and challenges the government faces. As such, citizens may start appreciating the importance of paying taxes, charges, fees, and levies and this could boost government revenue.

Citizen participation refers to an action or a series of actions that a citizen takes to engage in the affairs of his or her own government and community. The Constitution of Kenya 2010 under Article 1, 10,100, and 186 encourages inclusion of citizens in governance processes. Participation of the people in governance processes is critical because it provides an avenue to voice the citizen concerns and enables governments to provide services that address the needs of its citizens. But how can citizens participate in governance processes? What tools can citizens use to participate? This article discusses some of the ways that citizens can use to engage in governance processes: 

1. 1. Identify and prioritize community needs

Community forums or barazas are basically small meetings held at community levels based on issues that arise. Usually, the main purpose of these meetings is to share information and raise awareness concerning a specific matter like conducting civic education or planning development projects. These forums could either be organized by community members, government agencies or departments, civil society organizations or other social organizations like churches. Through community forums or barazas, members of a community can  strategize and even consolidate ideas on how to address problems affecting them  and prioritize their development agendas ahead of public planning or budgeting forums that are conducted by County governments. This kind of preparation allows citizens to participate meaningfully during public forums. County governments can make use of these platforms to capture community needs as well as provide feedback to citizens because issues that emanate from these platforms can help improve the quality of service delivery for citizens. 

b. Petition the Government

Public petitions come in handy in situations where citizens have identified a problem that needs to be addressed and have consulted the relevant authorities without success. Simply put, a petition is a written document addressed to a specific government official and signed by numerous individuals in support of the issues raised. It is a request made to a government agency to address an issue that is of concern to the petitioners. Most  County Assemblies have put a legislation known as ‘Petition to the County Assembly’ in place with guidelines on how citizens can petition the County Assembly to address specific issues, notify the executive about the issue or even bring the issue up for debate on the floor of the Assembly. Petitions are submitted to the County Assembly because the County assembly is an institution tasked by the Constitution of Kenya to oversight the operations of the County Executive.

c. Hold roundtable discussions with government officials

Citizens can organize roundtable discussions with government officials to raise issues that concern them. These kind discussions target duty bearers who are top government officers like department heads, members of the County Assembly or County Executives who are influential in decision making. Right holders who participate in these kind of discussions tend to be influential members of society such as religious leaders, leaders of professional bodies, business community leaders, CSO leaders among others. Roundtable discussions are often designed to influence specific issues like development agenda, review of existing government guidelines or operations of government agencies. 

When organizing for roundtable meetings,  involvement government offices should be prioritized in order to enhance their understanding of the issues at hand as well as to speed-up the process of addressing issues raised. Roundtable discussions often involve negotiating. This makes flexibility and negotiation skills important factors in the process in order to win the support of stakeholders and negotiate effectively. Apart from gathering stakeholder support, roundtable discussions provide great avenues for stakeholders to give inputs and share best solutions for addressing issues at hand. 

d. Lobbying and advocating for policy change

The Constitution allows Kenyans to participate not only in planning and budgeting processes, but also in development  policies and legislations. One of the most effective ways to do this is through lobbying and advocacy. Lobbying gives citizens a chance to engage and influence elected leaders and other government officials on a specific issues or a policies. Elected leaders are a key focus in the lobbying processes because they are tasked with development of laws at the National Assembly as well as in the County Assemblies. On the other hand, advocacy efforts are often directed at the general public with the aim of drumming up support for a particular issue or for recommendation of a particular cause or policy. The Constitution has vested a lot of power on the People; these powers could be used to influence elected leaders who represent them in National and County Assemblies. Influencing elected leaders through lobbying and advocacy ensures that legislations that speak to the needs of the people are developed. 

In a democratic society, each citizen has a civic responsibility. Civic duties are legal responsibilities that every citizen is expected to fulfill. They are actions that citizens are expected to undertake by law. Under the Kenya Constitution, citizenship is by registration, birth, or naturalization. When one becomes a citizen, he or she takes up specific rights and responsibilities. These rights are contained in different parts of the constitution including Article 1 on Sovereignty of the People, 10 on National Values and Principles of Good Governance, and Chapter 4 on the Bill of Rights. Responsibilities are as good as rights in the development of a country. Here are important responsibilities that every Kenyan citizen has:

1. Responsibility to abide by the Law

Citizens are required to abide by the law at all times because this enhances social cohesion. People live in peace when they abide by the law. Citizens are expected to obey the law whether they like that law or not. Where people do not like a given law, there are legal ways of raising complaints and effecting changes to that law. Obeying the law keeps people from committing crimes and maintains order in society.

2. Responsibility to be Patriotic

Patriotism is the most important element of good citizenship; it is an expression of one’s love for his or her country and the willingness to defend it against enemies. In the past, Kenyans have exhibited patriotism in supporting their own in international sporting events. Perhaps the greatest example of patriotism is the Kenya Defense Forces who for more than two years now have been out in Somalia fighting to protect the country against Al-Shabaab. Members of KDF are ready to give their lives for their country and those who live in it, an act that shows true patriotism. 

3. Responsibility to Respect Others 

This is critical particularly in addressing the challenge of tribalism that we face as a country. Respect is two-way; respecting others causes them to reciprocate the same. If we respect others, we will also be able to respect public spaces such as parks, hospitals, vehicles, and buildings among others because we want others to find them in good condition. Destroying or vandalizing public property only causes suffering to all of us because one, we will not enjoy using those facilities, and two, our taxes will be spent on repairing or replacing such property which means that the government will either increase taxes or forfeit funding something else and channel the funds to repairing or replacing the property. So, it is better to respect public and private property so that there is prudent utilization of resources. 

4. Responsibility to protect the environment

Inasmuch as the constitution gives citizens the right to a clean, healthy environment, every citizen has the responsibility to protect the environment. This does not necessarily mean taking up huge tasks like fencing off a national park. Rather, it implies making it our duty to ensure that our surroundings, both private and public are clean. There are many ways to do this like putting trash in the right place rather than throwing it anywhere, ensuring that lights are not left on when they are not in use, ensuring that we do not waste water, planting trees and nurturing them, and even more important, teaching our young ones to embrace values and actions that protect our environment. Sustainable development is listed as one of our national values in Article 10 of our constitution. For this to happen, we need to protect the environment to ensure that future generations also get to enjoy the natural resources we enjoy today. 

5. Responsibility to participate in governance processes

Participation is one of the national values under Article 10 of our constitution and it appears in many other articles throughout the constitution, an element that shows how important it is. True participation can only happen when we, as citizens are informed about what is going on at the different levels of government i.e. national and county levels. The main aim of participation is to ensure that citizen voices are heard in governance processes and being holders of sovereign power as in Article 1, those voices are considered in decision making. As a citizen, you, therefore, have a right to make your voice heard in the allocation of public resources through the planning and budget-making process. Your participation does not end there, you also have a responsibility to follow up on the implementation of those budgets and plans. Learn more on ways to participate from this article.  

6. Responsibility to democratically elect leaders

If you have attained the age of the majority, then you have a responsibility to elect your leaders democratically. Voting is a responsibility as much as it is a right. When you cast your vote during the general elections, you ensure that the right people take leadership in elective offices. You also have a responsibility to ensure that you do not sell your vote because it is through that vote that you partially exercise your sovereign power bestowed to you under Article 1 of the constitution. So, do not sit at home with your vote when the time for voting comes, act responsibly by going out to the polling station and making your voice heard in terms of who should be your leader at the Ward, County, and National levels. 

7. Responsibility to hold leaders to account

Every citizen has a responsibility to ensure that the leaders they elect are working properly and conducting themselves in accordance with the constitution. Your work does not end with electing the leaders, you have the responsibility to raise your voice when things are not going well. In fact, the constitution even gives you as a citizen and the electorate who gave some of your powers to the elected officials as in Article 1, powers to recall your Member of the National Assembly under Article 104 if you have valid reasons to do so.

The rights of every Kenyan citizen are contained in Chapter Four of  the the Constitution of Kenya on  Bill of Rights,. Bill of Right is a guideline that is used to develop policies that recognize and protect human rights. Most of these rights and fundamental freedoms are borrowed from the United Nation’s Universal Declarations of Human Rights which Kenya is a signatory to. The Constitution allows every citizen to enjoy the rights and freedoms embedded in Chapter Four without any form of discrimination whether language, sex, religion, political, birth or any other status as long as that enjoyment does not interfere with the rights and freedoms of other people. Here are top five rights that the Constitution accords each Kenyan citizen:

1. 1. Right to Life

The Constitution has placed the task of protecting the existence of human beings on the state. As a Kenya citizen, you are not allowed to take away life of any other human being or even your own life because doing so amounts to a criminal offence. Persons who survive after attempting to take away their lives are taken to court judged. The Constitution allows for life of an unborn child to be taken only when a qualified health practitioner advises so when the life of the mother is in danger and needs to be saved.  

2. Right to access Economic and Social Services

Every Kenyan citizen has the right to access quality social and economic services such as health, housing, sanitation services, clean, safe water and food in adequate quantities. It is this right that prohibits denial of medical services to Kenyan citizens in the event of an emergency whether during day or night time in any kind of hospital facility. Further, through this right, the Constitution accords every citizen, old or young, including any child who is a citizen of Kenya the right to access quality education. Under this right, the government is compelled to provide appropriate social security (money given to people who are ill or too old to work) in order to support themselves and their dependants. 

3. Right to enjoy one’s language and culture

Nobody chooses which community to belong to or which language the community one is born it should speak. The Constitution therefore accords every Kenyan the right to enjoy their language and culture even as it appreciates the existence of different languages that different communities living in Kenya speak.  This right also gives people a chance to form, join and maintain cultural and linguistic associations or groups but only with  good intentions.

4. Right to a clean, healthy environment

Every person wants to live in an environment that is free from pollution and destruction. The purpose of this right is to protect the environment for the sake of the present and future generations. The government ought to develop  and enforce legislations that ensure that every person enjoys a clean and healthy environment.

5. Right to fair labour practices

Every employee, whether permanent or temporary, wants to be treated well and to feel valued by the employer.  To keep this dream alive, this right protects Kenyan workers from unfair treatment by ensuring that employers are providing fair pay and  reasonable working conditions for the employees.

6. Right to vote

Every Kenyan who has attained 18 years and is of sound mind has a right to vote. Through voting, Kenyans exercise their sovereign power to democratically decide who leads them. Kenyans are required by law to identify themselves using an identity card or passport. It is the right of every Kenyan to be issued with such identification documents as well. As a Kenyan, you have the right to belong to a political party of your choice and you can vote for the candidate you want as long as they appear on the ballot box without being intimidated.