Search Results
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7 June 2017
FOI Notes: Kenya, Norway, Scotland, India, Australia, EU, Samoa, Germany, Ireland, UN, OGP, US, Open Data, Algorithms, South Africa, Open Parliaments
Kenya: Business Daily reports, “Companies in Kenya have been caught flat footed in implementing new anti-secrecy laws and are now scrambling to comply.” Norway: A report (in Norwegian and English) by the Auditor General says the country is not living up to its reputation for transparency, according to a press release (in English). “Few other […]
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6 April 2017
Kenya: Courts and the Potency of FOIA
By James Wanjeri The author is a lawyer and formerly interned with Katiba Institute. This article first appeared April 1, 2016 in The Star. The story this week begins with access to information. It ends as a clear example of why access to information is important—namely because it can produce transparency that can go a […]
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23 March 2017
FOI Notes: Burkina Faso, The Philippines, Canada, Denmark, Kenya, Pakistan, Australia, US, Malawi, India
Burkina Faso: The Communications Minister explains that the 2015 access law is still not effect, suggesting that changes may need to be made, according to an interview (in French) in Burkina 24. He says a constitutional review is underway because of concerns about the oversight body. The Philippines: The Right to Know, Right Now! Coalition […]
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1 September 2016
Kenyan President Signs Bill Creating Access Law
Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta on Aug. 31 signed an Access to Information bill into law. The final text of the bill is not yet available. The Kenyan National Assembly recently approved the Senate’s changes to the ATI bill. (See previous FreedomInfo.org report.) “The new law allows the public to seek information from government, and obliges […]
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25 August 2016
Kenyan Assembly Endorses Senate Changes to ATI Bill
The Kenyan National Assembly has approved the Senate’s changes to an Access to Information bill, according to an article in The Nation by John Ngiruchu and an article in The Standard by Alphonce Shiundu. The bill will now be presented to President Uhuru Kenyatta for his signature. “Most of what the Senate introduced were clarifications on […]
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21 July 2016
Kenyan Senate Approves Access to Information Bill
The Senate has passed an access to information bill. The bill now goes back to the National Assembly for consideration of changes made and expected approval, according to an article in The Nation by John Ngirachu. “Among the amendments by the Senate is a provision to have information held by a public entity or private […]
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28 April 2016
Kenyan Assembly Approves Access to Information Bill
Kenya’s National Assembly on April 28 approved an Access to Information Bill on third reading, according to media accounts such as one by Alphonce Shiundu in Standard Media and one by James Mbaka in The Star. There is ongoing deliberation by a legal committee on whether it should be forwarded to the Senate for consideration or […]
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28 January 2016
OGP Examines Membership of Kenya, Malawi, Montenegro
The Open Government Partnership is reviewing the memberships of three member countries that have missed two deadlines to prepare national action plans (NAPs). Kenya, Malawi and Montenegro have failed for two successive years to produce action plans, a core commitment made by OGP members. The three countries could face being declared “inactive” under the OGP […]
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20 August 2015
Kenyan Access Bill Advances; Open Data Portal Lacks Info
Legislation to create an access to information law was given a first reading Aug. 19 in the Kenyan National Assembly. The step forward – amendments come during the second reading – came as the Kenyan Open Data portal reported that it has only received cooperation from from only 26 departments out of about 83, according […]
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12 August 2015
ATI Bill Offered in Kenya; Next Step First Reading
A bill on Access to Information has been submitted in the Kenyan National Assembly by Hon. Priscilla Nyokabi. The bill has been published and the next step is first reading. (For text see entry 31 in a list on Kenya’s National Assembly Bill Tracker.) Despite a constitutional provision (Article 35) guaranteeing a right to information, […]
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9 July 2015
FOI Notes: US, UK, Germany, Kenya, Open Data, India, Pakistan, Canada
Germany: The Federal Administrative Supreme court of Germany forces the German Parliament to give public access to records on “UFOs,” according to post on the UFO Chronicle blog. United States: The Justice Department releases new guidelines for agencies seeking to close out old requests that the requesters might not be interested in anymore. Building on 2010 […]
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27 May 2015
UNEP Access Policy Criticized During Hearing in Kenya
Numerous suggestions to improve the interim access to information policy at the United Nations Environment Programme UNEP) were proposed during a public hearing held May 26 in Nairobi, Kenya. Most of the commentators urged that the interim policy, now in effect on a trial basis, be made less restrictive. Among other things, UNEP was urged […]
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30 April 2015
Access to Information in Kenya
By Ruth Nzioka The author is a Legal Researcher at the Institute for Law and Environmental Governance (ILEG) and first appeared on the ILEG blog. The views expressed here are purely her own and do not necessarily reflect ILEG’s position. “You cannot protect the environment unless you empower people, you inform them, and you help […]
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23 October 2014
Kenya: Clear Need to Respect the Right of Access to Information
By Riva Jalipa The author is Legal Officer, ARTICLE 19–Eastern Africa. This is a chapter in a recently issued State of Right to Information in Africa Report 2014 and is reprinted with permission. (See previous FreedomInfo.org report.) The violence that followed the 2007 general elections triggered wide–ranging debates and changes that form the basis of Kenya’s reform agenda today. […]
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1 October 2014
FOI Notes: Commentary, UN Agenda, E-Access, Kenya, Wood Carving
Commentary: The Centre for Law and Democracy addresses the passage of the 100th RTI law. Among other observations: One hundred RTI laws is a momentous achievement but, amidst the celebrations, we must bear in mind that this represents only about half of the world’s countries. In other words, the average RTI law still lacks nearly […]
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25 September 2014
Kenyan Draft Law Faulted in Analyses by Two Groups
A draft freedom of information law for Kenya (text) has been critically reviewed critiqued by two international organizations. “Although the draft is relatively robust,” according to one analysis, “it is significantly weaker than the version which was proposed in 2012. The Attorney General submitted the draft bill, and the legislation remains under consideration in the […]
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14 August 2014
Two FOI Bills Emerge in Kenya, One from AG
Several right to information bills are being worked on in Kenya, including one recently announced by Attorney General Githu Muigai. Muigai now has cleared the publication of that bill, according to an article in The Star. “If enacted by the National Assembly and the Senate, it will bestow the Commission on Administrative Justice its oversight […]
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16 August 2013
Kenya Debating Transparency of Natural Resource Contracts
Very few countries disclose the contracts made with private companies to develop natural resources, but pressure for more transparency has been on the rise, as is now on display in Kenya. The Kenyan government recently cancelled contracts with mining companies over questions about their adequacy and transparency. The International Monetary Fund had been pressuring Kenya to disclose […]
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29 May 2013
Kenyan Officials Say Lack of FOI Hampers Open Data
The lack of a freedom of information law in Kenya is stymieing efforts to post more government data online, according to two top officials, quoted in an article in the Daily Nation and another in Africa Review “The fact that the Freedom of Information Act is yet to go through Parliament is a major bottleneck because […]
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17 May 2013
Kenyan Court Limits Who Can Make Information Requests
The Kenyan High Court has ruled that only citizens have a constitutional right of access to government information, preventing media groups, nongovernmental organizations and others from making requests. This outcome was criticized as a “narrow interpretation” by a Kenya-based staff person of Article 19. In the same May 13 ruling, the court deemed that the […]