Gladys Shollei is pushing a dangerous amendment, and Kenyans should pay attention.
Yesterday, during a debate on the Public Participation Bill, she proposed removing a key safeguard: the requirement to publish public participation outcomes.
Right now, Section 12(2) requires that once public participation is done, the results be made public, for example, on a website, so citizens can see what Kenyans actually said.
Her proposal? Remove it completely or
Keep that information private.
If you want it, you must apply to the same authority that collected it.
Let me be honest, we already know how this ends.
We have been requesting NHIF, Housing levy, and capitation data for over 6 months. Letters sent to MOH and MOE. No response. Total silence. We are now heading to court soon.
Now imagine this:
A bad bill is rejected by Kenyans during public participation.
The authority then claims: “Kenyans supported it.”
How do you verify?
You write to them, and they ignore you.
That’s the trap.
This amendment would legalize secrecy and make it impossible to hold the government accountable.
Public participation without transparency is just a rubber stamp.
MPs must reject this amendment.
Kenyans deserve a public portal where participation outcomes are visible, verifiable, and permanent.
Enough hiding.
Article 35 on access to information is becoming ceremonial, and soon, we will prove that in court.
every time you replace “this is hard” with “what’s the first step?” you shift brain activity from your amygdala (fear) to your prefrontal cortex (problem-solving).
that’s neuroplasticity in real time.
Life is so funny. You can literally have the worst week of your life and then a few days later, life becomes so beautiful again and you feel happier than ever. Remember this when you're going through a rough patch. It'll pass. Give it time.