By Pascal Ndegwa - Reporter
Kenya ,October 13,2026 - Many Kenyans have the right to ask the government for information. But having that right does not always mean they get the records they need.
A resident following a stalled road project may want to know how much the government paid the contractor, when the work was supposed to end and why the project is still incomplete. The resident can only get clear answers if the office in charge shares the records.
Kenya now wants to fix this problem through a new policy that requires public offices to share important information more openly.
Information, Communications and the Digital Economy Cabinet Secretary William Kabogo gazetted the Access to Information Policy, 2026, through Gazette Notice No. 15992 on October 9, 2026. The policy requires public offices and some private organisations to share important records with the public. It also requires them to respond to requests within set timelines and give written reasons when they refuse to share information.
The new policy comes eight years after Parliament passed the Access to Information Act, 2016. The law supports Article 35 of the Constitution, which gives citizens the right to access information held by the State. In some cases, citizens can also access information held by other people or organisations.
Kenya already has laws that protect this right. The problem is that many public offices do not follow them well.
The new policy aims to change that by making public offices share key records before citizens ask for them. These records include budgets, procurement documents, contract awards, policies and information about how public bodies make decisions.
For years, citizens have had to do much of the work themselves. Anyone who wants to know how the government spends public money may need to find the right office, submit a request and wait for a response. If officials fail to respond, the citizen must take more steps to get information they already have a right to access.
The new policy aims to make this easier. It requires government offices to publish contracts, project reports and spending records regularly. This will allow citizens to check government decisions and follow public spending without filing a request first.
For example, residents following a road project can use published records to check the contract value, planned completion date and reported progress. This gives them clear facts to question delays, instead of relying only on public statements.
However, the policy comes after years of concerns about whether public offices follow existing access-to-information rules.
In May 2025, the Office of the Ombudsman published a report on 24 public institutions and two private bodies. The report checked how these institutions handled requests, shared information and kept systems that help the public access records.
It found continuing problems with record keeping, public awareness, reporting and sharing information.
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These problems show why a new policy alone may not fix the issue. A public office cannot share records it did not keep properly. Even when records exist, the rule to share them means little if no one checks whether the office follows it.
The new policy also responds to concerns that public institutions use data protection rules to deny people access to records. The government must protect personal information, but it should not use privacy as a general excuse to hide details about public spending.
For example, the government should protect a person’s private details. But it should share the value of a public contract and the name of the company that won it because the public needs this information to hold leaders accountable.
The policy asks the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner and the Commission on Administrative Justice to work together to solve such issues.
It also calls for measures to protect people who share information about wrongdoing in the public interest and in good faith. This could help people who report suspected corruption, procurement problems or misuse of public funds. However, this protection will only work if institutions act when whistleblowers face punishment or threats.
County governments must also share information more openly. They should appoint officers to handle requests and pass their own access-to-information laws. This could help residents get records about county budgets, health services, local roads and other public projects.
The Commission on Administrative Justice will still make sure public offices follow the right to information. Under the law, the head of a public institution must make sure people can access information. They can give this job to another officer.
Kenyans can ask for information by naming the public office that has the records and clearly saying what they need. Public offices must respond within 21 days. If a public office ignores, delays or refuses a request, the person can complain to the Commission on Administrative Justice.
The real test of the new policy is whether it changes how public offices work. Citizens should find important records more easily, get answers on time and receive clear reasons when an office refuses to share information.
Kenya does not lack laws that recognise the public’s right to information. The big question is whether public offices will follow these laws every day.
If public offices start sharing records regularly and face consequences when they ignore requests, the policy could make it easier for Kenyans to track public spending and question decisions that affect their lives. If not, people may continue to have a legal right to information that is hard to use.
The test is no longer what the policy promises. The test is whether a citizen who asks how public money was spent can get a clear answer from the office in charge..