In a precedent-setting judgment, Kenya’s Environment and Land Court has delivered a powerful ruling that significantly bolsters the constitutional right of public access to information, particularly concerning land and environmental matters. The case centered on a request by a civil society organization to a county government for documents related to the allocation of a public plot of land. The county had refused the request, citing administrative burden and lack of a compelling public interest. The court firmly rejected these arguments, asserting that the constitutional right to information, as enshrined in Article 35, is not a passive right but an active obligation on the part of the state and its agencies to provide information promptly and without the need for the requester to justify its use.
The ruling provides crucial legal clarity on several ambiguous areas of the Access to Information Act. The judge emphasized that the burden of proof for denying an information request rests squarely with the public entity, which must demonstrate a specific and overriding harm that would result from disclosure, rather than relying on vague or blanket exceptions. Furthermore, the court affirmed that information related to the use and allocation of public land is inherently a matter of public interest, and that the high costs of corruption and environmental degradation stemming from secretive land deals far outweigh any purported administrative burden on the government. This interpretation dismantles a common tactic used by officials to obstruct transparency and withhold potentially controversial documents.
The long-term implications of this judgment are profound for governance and accountability in Kenya. It provides a powerful legal tool for journalists, activists, and ordinary citizens to demand transparency in land and environmental governance, areas historically plagued by corruption and impunity. The ruling effectively lowers the barrier for obtaining information, shifting the dynamic from one where citizens must plead for data to one where the state is obligated to be open by default. By solidifying the legal framework around access to information, this decision marks a critical step toward more transparent and accountable county governments and strengthens the foundational principles of democracy and public participation in Kenya.