Related documents
- Is amended by 24th Annual Supplement
- Is amended by Statute Law (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act, 2015
LAWS OF KENYA
NATIONAL COHESION AND INTEGRATION ACT
CAP. 7N
- Published in Kenya Gazette Vol. CXI—No. 2 on 9 January 2009
- Assented to on 24 December 2008
- Commenced on 9 March 2009 by National Cohesion and Integration Act Commencement
- [Amended by National Cohesion and Integration Act, 2008 Corrigendum (Corrigendum 3 of 2009) on 23 January 2009]
- [Amended by National Cohesion and Integration (Amendment) Act, 2012 (Act No. 40 of 2012) on 8 September 2012]
- [Amended by Statute Law (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act, 2015 (Act No. 25 of 2015) on 24 December 2015]
- [Amended by National Cohesion and Integration (Amendment) Act, 2019 (Act No. 6 of 2019) on 2 July 2019]
- [Revised by 24th Annual Supplement (Legal Notice 221 of 2023) on 31 December 2022]
Part I – PRELIMINARY
1. Short title
This Act may be cited as the National Cohesion and Integration Act.2. Interpretation
In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires—"Cabinet Secretary" means the Cabinet Secretary for the time being responsible for matters relating to justice and human rights;"Commission" means the National Cohesion and Integration Commission established by section 15;"commissioner" means a member of the Commission appointed under section 17;"development issues" includes issues relating to development in socio- cultural, political and economic sectors;"discrimination" means discrimination as defined under sections 3 and 4 of this Act;"employment" means a situation where an employee does his work wholly or partly in Kenya, (for a fee or not), for the employer; or where the employee does work for the employer outside Kenya and the employee is ordinarily resident in Kenya, either at the time he applies for the job or at any time during the course of the employment and includes a situation where the employer is working through a representative, assign or where he has sub-contracted the employment;"establishment" means a place of employment including aboard a ship or aeroplane registered in Kenya but operating internationally;"ethnic group" means a group of person defined by reference to colour, race, religion, or ethnic or national origins, and references to a person’s ethnic group refers to any ethnic group to which the person belongs;"ethnic relations" include racial, religious, tribal and cultural interactions between various communities, and the words "ethnic" and "ethnicity" shall be construed accordingly;"ethnic grounds" means any of the following grounds, namely colour, race, religion, nationality or ethnic or national origins;"financial year" means a period of twelve months ending on the thirtieth June in each year;"Human Rights Commission" means the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights established under the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights Act (Cap. 7I); and"Secretary" means the secretary to the Commission appointed under section 20.Part II – DISCRIMINATION TO WHICH ACT APPLIES
3. Ethnic discrimination
4. Discrimination by way of victimization
A person discriminates against another person by way of victimization in any circumstances relevant for the purposes of this Act, if he does any act that is injurious to the well-being and esteem of the person by treating the person victimized less favourably than, in those circumstances, he treats or would treat other persons, and does so by reason that the person victimized has—5. Comparison of persons of different ethnic groups
A comparison of the case of a person of a particular ethnic group with that of a person not of that group under sections 3 and 4 shall be such that the relevant circumstances in the one case are the same, or not materially different, in another.6. Harassment on the basis of ethnicity
Part III – ACTS, CONDITIONS AND CIRCUMSTANCES DEEMED DISCRIMINATORY
7. Discrimination in employment
8. Exceptions to discrimination in the employment field
9. Discrimination in membership of organizations
10. Discrimination by other agencies
11. Discrimination in access to and distribution of public resources
12. Discrimination in property ownership, management and disposal
13. Hate speech
14. Exceptions to Part
Part IV – ESTABLISHMENT, POWERS AND FUNCTIONS OF THE COMMISSION
15. Establishment of the Commission
16. Headquarters
17. Membership of the Commission
17A. Powers of the chairperson
18. Qualification of Commissioner
19. Term of office
The chairperson and members of the Commission shall be appointed for a single term of six years and are not eligible for re-appointment.[Act No. 6 of 2019, s. 5.]20. Secretary to the Commission
21. Oath of office
The Chairperson, the commissioners and the Secretary shall each make and subscribe before the Chief Justice the oath or affirmation set out in the Second Schedule.22. Vacancy
23. Removal from office
24. Filling of vacancy
25. Objects and functions of the Commission
26. Powers of the Commission
27. Power to summon witnesses
The Commission shall have power to summon witnesses and to call for the production of books, plans and other documents and to examine witnesses and parties on oath.28. Summons for attendance of witnesses
Summons for the attendance of witnesses or other persons or for the production of books, plans and other documents shall be in such form as may be specified by the Commission and shall be signed by the Secretary.29. Expenses of witnesses
Every person summoned to attend and give evidence or produce books, plans or other documents at any sitting of the Commission shall be bound to obey the summons served upon him as if such summons were issued by the High Court, and shall be entitled to like expenses as a witness summoned to attend the High Court on a civil trial.30. Conduct of business of the Commission
The conduct and regulation of the business and affairs of the Commission shall be as provided in the Third Schedule but subject thereto, the Commission shall regulate its own procedure.31. Delegation by the Commission
The Commission may, by resolution either generally or in any particular case, delegate to any committee of the Commission or to any member, officer, employee or agent of the Commission, the exercise of any of the powers or the performance of any of the functions or duties of the Commission under this Act.32. Remuneration of commissioners
The Cabinet Secretary shall, in consultation with the National Treasury, determine the remuneration and allowances of the members of the Commission.33. Staff of the Commission
34. The seal of the Commission
35. Protection from personal liability
No matter or thing done by a member of the Commission or any officer, employee or agent of the Commission shall, if the matter or thing is done in good faith for executing the functions, powers or duties of the Commission, render the member, officer, employee or agent personally liable to any action, claim or demand whatsoever.36. Liability of the Commission for damages
The provisions of section 35 shall not relieve the Commission of the liability to pay compensation for damage to any person for any personal or proprietary interest sustained by the person as a result of the exercise of any power conferred by this Act or by the failure, whether wholly or partially, of any works.Part V – FINANCIAL PROVISIONS
37. Funds of the Commission
The funds of the Commission shall consist of—38. Annual estimates
39. Accounts and audit
40. Investment of funds
41. Annual reports
42. Special reports
The Commission may, at any time, submit a special report to the National Assembly through the Cabinet Secretary with respect to any aspect of the functions of the Commission which the Commission considers should, in the national interest, be brought to the attention of the National Assembly because it affects a wide cross section of the populace and there could be disastrous consequences if a report thereon is not brought to the attention of the National Assembly.Part VI – ENFORCEMENT
Complaint and compliance procedure
43. Complaints
44. Lodging a complaint
45. Commission may decline to entertain some complaints
46. Application to strike out complaint
47. Commission may dismiss a stale complaint
48. Cabinet Secretary may refer a matter to Commission
49. Commission to refer complaints for conciliation
50. Where conciliation is inappropriate
51. Conciliation by the Commission
The Commission shall make all reasonable endeavours to conciliate a complaint referred to it under section 49 and may, by written notice, require any person to—52. Conciliation agreements
If, following conciliation, the parties to the complaint reach agreement with respect to the subject matter of the complaint, the Secretary shall record the agreement and the parties shall be bound to comply with such agreement as if it were an order of the Commission.53. Where Commission fails to conciliate
54. Special references
55. Parties to a proceeding
56. Decisions of the Commission
After hearing the evidence and representations that the parties to a complaint desire to adduce or make, the Commission may—57. Compliance notices
58. Enforcement of compliance notices
59. Investigations by the Commission
60. Matters that may be investigated
61. Conduct of investigations
Part VII – MISCELLANEOUS
62. Offence of ethnic or racial contempt
63. Offences
A person who—64. Offences by body of persons
In the case of an offence under this Act committed by a body of persons—65. Contravention of Act not to create civil or criminal liability
A contravention of this Act does not create any civil or criminal liability except to the extent expressly provided by this Act.66. Secrecy of certain information
67. Effect of vacancy or defect in appointment
An act or decision by the Commission is not invalid only because of a vacancy in its membership, or a defect or irregularity in the appointment of any member.68. Protection of persons giving evidence and information
If—69. Regulations
The Cabinet Secretary may, in consultation with the Commission, make regulations—70. Act binds Government
This Act binds the Government.History of this document
31 December 2022 this version
Revised by
24th Annual Supplement
02 July 2019
24 December 2015
08 September 2012
09 March 2009
Commenced by
National Cohesion and Integration Act Commencement
23 January 2009
09 January 2009
24 December 2008
Assented to
Cited documents 0
Documents citing this one 47
Judgment 28
Gazette 11
Bench Bulletin 5
| 1. | Bench Bulletin - Issue 43 | |
| 2. | Bench Bulletin - Issue 44 | |
| 3. | Bench Bulletin - Issue 45 | |
| 4. | Bench Bulletin - Issue 46 | |
| 5. | Bench Bulletin - Issue 58 |
Legal Notice 2
| 1. | The Statutory Instruments (Exemption from Expiry) Regulations | |
| 2. | The Statutory Instruments (Exemption from Expiry) Regulations |
Bill 1
| 1. | The National Cohesion and Peace Building Bill, 2018 |