Civic Engagement
More actions
| Civic Engagement | |
|---|---|
| Theme | |
| Pillar | Governance |
Civic Engagement is a theme of the Governance pillar. It covers how residents, civil society and community groups on the coast take part in decisions made by the six county governments and by national agencies working in the region. The Constitution names "participation of the people" among Kenya's national values,[1] and the County Governments Act 2012 makes public participation in county planning mandatory.[2] On the coast, how well that works has been tested in county budget hearings and in court, most prominently over a proposed coal plant in Lamu.[3]
What this page is for
If you run, attend or study a public forum, a citizens' group or a participation process on the coast, please add what you know here, with its source, so others can see how people are being heard.
Civic Engagement on the coast today
Under the County Governments Act, citizens have a right to timely information, to take part in making policies, laws, budgets and development decisions, and to petition their county government, which must respond quickly.[4] Counties are to provide town hall meetings, budget forums, notice boards and online platforms for this purpose, and each governor must report annually to the county assembly on citizen participation.[5]
The counties report different levels of activity. Kwale County says it held 15,624 civic education forums during its previous plan period against a target of 12,120, and credits its Public Participation Act of 2016 with formalising them.[6] Tana River County built ward administrators' offices in its wards partly to improve citizen participation.[7] In Mombasa County, civil society groups protested at the county assembly in May 2025 that the 2025/26 budget estimates had been drawn up without public participation, and the assembly's majority leader, Athman Mwamiri, acknowledged that some aspects of the process had not been handled properly.[8] The county then held forums on the proposed KES 14.63 billion budget, where residents asked to be involved earlier and for future forums to be held in Kiswahili.[9]
Women remain thinly represented among elected county leaders. Only 100 women were elected as members of county assemblies nationwide in August 2022; Kilifi elected four, Tana River three, and Kwale and Taita-Taveta one each.[10] Kwale's was its first elected woman MCA since devolution began, in the same election that made Fatuma Achani the coast's first woman governor, while Lamu's assembly lost the one elected woman it had.[11]
Plans and policy
Besides Article 10, the Constitution makes public participation an object of devolution, requires county assemblies to facilitate it in their business, and gives every citizen a right of access to information held by the State.[12] The County Governments Act adds that the public must be given clear information in planning, including environmental impact assessment reports and the cost of development options.[2] A national Public Participation Bill, setting common rules for all public bodies, passed the National Assembly with amendments on 12 August 2026 and was read for the first time in the Senate on 8 September 2026.[13]
The county plans for 2023-2027 repeat the commitment. The Mombasa CIDP aims to "ensure meaningful citizen participation" in all planning and budgeting,[14] and the Kwale CIDP includes a communication programme whose stated objective is to improve citizen participation in government services.[15]
Who is involved
The county assemblies and executives of the six counties run most participation processes. Counties also consult through County Budget and Economic Forums, which the Taita-Taveta CIDP describes as established under the Public Finance Management Act 2012 for consultation on plans and budgets.[16] In Mombasa, civil society organisations have pressed the assembly over the budget process.[8] In Lamu, Save Lamu, the Lamu Youth Alliance and Natural Justice campaigned and litigated over the coal plant, and deCOALonize welcomed the final ruling.[3][17] Nationally, the Senate's Standing Committee on Justice, Legal Affairs and Human Rights is handling the Public Participation Bill.[13] The six counties co-operate regionally through the Jumuiya ya Kaunti za Pwani.[18]
Open questions
What makes participation meaningful? Mombasa civil society activists argued in 2025 that a budget prepared without consultation was illegal and threatened to go to court, while the assembly undertook to involve the County Budget and Economic Forum and civil society before validation.[8] Residents at the later forums said they had not been included in the early stages.[9]
Can participation stop a national project? In June 2019 the National Environment Tribunal revoked the licence for a coal plant in Lamu because the impact assessment had been prepared "without public consultation or participation".[3] Amu Power appealed, and in November 2025 the Environment and Land Court upheld the decision, finding public participation deficient.[17] Human Rights Watch reported that activists opposing the plant had faced threats, arrests and restrictions on public meetings.[3]
Who is heard? Residents in Mombasa asked for forums in Kiswahili,[9] and the 2022 results left Lamu's assembly with no elected woman.[11] Whether participation reaches women and young people as well as established voices is an open question for every county.
Coverage the plan expects
- public participation in county planning
- civil society and community based organisations
- youth and women in decision making
- access to public information
- participation in environmental impact assessments
Projects
A project page joins this theme by naming it as the theme in its infobox. To start one:
Sources
- County Governments Act, No. 17 of 2012, Republic of Kenya, 2012
- The Constitution of Kenya, 2010, Republic of Kenya, 2010
- Kwale County Integrated Development Plan 2023-2027, County Government of Kwale, 2023
- Mombasa County Integrated Development Plan 2023-2027, County Government of Mombasa, 2023
- Tribunal Stops Kenya's Coal Plant Plans, Human Rights Watch, 2019
- Kenya court upholds cancellation of 1,050 MW coal plant license, Mongabay, 2025
- Mixed bag of fortunes for women in county assemblies, Daily Nation, 2022
References
- ↑ The Constitution of Kenya, 2010, Republic of Kenya, 2010, Article 10(2)(a), page 15.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 County Governments Act, No. 17 of 2012, Republic of Kenya, revised 2012, section 115, page 58.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Tribunal Stops Kenya's Coal Plant Plans, Otsieno Namwaya, Human Rights Watch, 1 July 2019.
- ↑ County Governments Act, No. 17 of 2012, Republic of Kenya, revised 2012, sections 87 to 89, pages 47 to 48.
- ↑ County Governments Act, No. 17 of 2012, Republic of Kenya, revised 2012, sections 91 and 92, pages 48 to 49.
- ↑ Kwale County Integrated Development Plan 2023-2027, County Government of Kwale, September 2023, page 45.
- ↑ County Integrated Development Plan 2023-2027, County Government of Tana River, 2023, page 23.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Mombasa CSOs demand transparency from MCAs amid looming legal action over budget, Farhiya Hussein, The Eastleigh Voice, 6 May 2025.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Mombasa holds public forums after budget criticism for lack of community input, Farhiya Hussein, The Eastleigh Voice, 2 June 2025.
- ↑ Nairobi leads in ward reps gender top-up list, Collins Omulo, Daily Nation, 15 September 2022.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Mixed bag of fortunes for women in county assemblies, Esther Nyandoro, Daily Nation, 19 August 2022.
- ↑ The Constitution of Kenya, 2010, Republic of Kenya, 2010, Articles 35, 174 and 196, pages 26, 106 and 119.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 Senate invites views on Public Participation Bill: What happens to public input next?, Dawan Africa, 14 September 2026.
- ↑ Third County Integrated Development Plan 2023-2027, County Government of Mombasa, 2023, page 208.
- ↑ Kwale County Integrated Development Plan 2023-2027, County Government of Kwale, September 2023, page 195.
- ↑ County Integrated Development Plan 2023-2027, County Government of Taita Taveta, 2023, page 200.
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 Kenya court upholds cancellation of 1,050 MW coal plant license, Lynet Otieno, Mongabay, 6 November 2025.
- ↑ Governor Godhana takes over stewardship of Coast economic block, Kenya News Agency, 14 February 2026.