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"id": 238477,
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"speaker_name": "Prof. Anyang'-Nyong'o",
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"legal_name": "Peter Anyang' Nyong'o",
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"content": "Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Speaker, Sir, we will never tire in reminding this House of that saying written at the entrance of this august House that everybody should read whenever they leave this House; \"This House or Government exists for the welfare of society and the just Government of men\". That just Government cannot exist unless one, the people know what the Government is doing; and two, they can evaluate, on the basis of full information, whether what the Government is doing is in the interests of the public; and three, they can account or hold the Government accountable. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, what is the current status of freedom of information in the Republic of Kenya? The prevailing constitution and legal framework inherited from the colonial regime, and also the previous regimes, was deliberately designed to deny Kenyans access to information, let alone using it in a user-friendly medium, when they access it. In the first place, the Constitution does not provide for the freedom of information. Indeed, where it is provided for in Section 79 of the Constitution, it is then qualified by numerous exceptions. The qualifications are, themselves, ambiguous and wide to the extent that, they leave the ordinary citizenry perplexed as to whether the freedom of information, that should be part and parcel of the Bill of Rights, can 2986 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES October 18, 2006 be pursued by the Government, if it hides behind vague provisions in the Constitution. Those provisions have, therefore, allowed for the enactment of laws whose effects negate the right to information. Draconian laws like the Official Secrets Act and Preservation of the Public Order and Security Act which, fortunately, has now been removed from the statutes have, in the past, restricted citizens' access to official information and use of that information in promoting both individual and public interest. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, our concern is to ensure that we put in place a law that will, not only make it possible for individual citizens in this Republic to have access to public records, but also compel the Government and other public institutions to avail those records to the public in a user-friendly manner. When information is not readily available, it creates wide possibilities for rent-seeking in Government. In other words, when a citizen wants information, somebody who occupies a critical position in the Government bureaucracy ends up having the power to sell this information to the citizen. That is what is called rent-seeking. Further, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, as I will continue to illustrate, lack of access to public records and information does not only hinder development, but also promotes corruption in Government bureaucracies and public institutions. That is great disservice to development. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, we must, therefore, in promoting or advocating the need for a freedom of information law, be aware of certain policies and principles that will guide the framing of such a law. The first principle is that public officials, who occupy public positions, have a duty to make information available to the public. That is good in and of itself."
}