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Petition to County Assemblies (Procedure) Act

Cap. 274

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Petition to County Assemblies (Procedure) Act
Citation
Cap. 274
Date
Language
English
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LAWS OF KENYA

PETITION TO COUNTY ASSEMBLIES (PROCEDURE) ACT

CAP. 274

  • Published in Kenya Gazette Vol. CXXII—No. 140 on 17 July 2020
  • Assented to on 9 July 2020
  • Commenced on 27 July 2020
  1. [Revised by 24th Annual Supplement (Legal Notice 221 of 2023) on 31 December 2022]
An Act of Parliament to: give effect to Article 37 of the Constitution on the right to petition a county assembly; to provide the procedure for the exercise of that right; and for connected purposes

1. Short title

This Act may be cited as the Petition to County Assemblies (Procedure) Act.

2. Interpretation

In this Act—"Clerk" means a Clerk of a county assembly;"petition" means a written prayer to a county assembly under section 15 of the County Governments Act (Cap. 265);"petitioner" means a person who petitions a county assembly;"register" means the register maintained by a Clerk under section 6; and"Speaker" means a Speaker of a county assembly.

3. Form of a petition

A petition to a county assembly shall be in the form set out in the Schedule and shall—
(a)be handwritten, printed or typed;
(b)be in English or Kiswahili;
(c)be written in respectful, decorous and temperate language;
(d)be free of alterations and interlineations in its text;
(e)be addressed to the county assembly;
(f)have its subject matter indicated on every sheet if it consists of more than one sheet;
(g)indicate whether any efforts have been made to have the matter addressed by a relevant body and whether there has been any response from that body or whether the response has been unsatisfactory;
(h)indicate whether the issue in respect of which the petition is made is pending before any court of law or other constitutional or legal body;
(i)conclude with a clear, proper and respectful prayer, reciting the definite object of the petitioner or petitioners with regard to the matter to which it relates;
(j)subject to paragraph (n), contain the names, addresses, identification numbers and signature or a thumb impression of the petitioner or of every petitioner, where there is more than one petitioner;
(k)contain only signatures or thumb impressions, as the case may be, and addresses and identification numbers written directly onto the petition and not pasted thereon or otherwise transferred to it;
(l)not have any letters, affidavits or other documents annexed to it;
(m)in the case of a petition presented by a member of a county assembly on behalf of a petitioner, be countersigned by the member presenting it; and
(n)be signed by the petitioner, or if the petitioner is unable to sign, by a witness in whose presence the petitioner shall make his or her mark on the petition.

4. Procedure for presenting a petition

(1)A petition to a county assembly shall be—
(a)submitted to the respective Clerk by the petitioner; or
(b)presented by a member of the county assembly on behalf of a petitioner, with the consent of the Speaker.
(2)Despite subsection (1)(b), a member of a county assembly is not eligible to present a petition on his or her own behalf.
(3)The Clerk shall, within seven days of the date of receipt of the petition, review the petition to ascertain whether the petition meets the requirements specified under section 3.
(4)Where the Clerk considers that a petition does not comply with section 3, the Clerk may give such directions as are necessary to ensure that the petition is amended to comply with that section.
(5)A petition shall not be rejected merely because it is not addressed to the Clerk of a county assembly.

5. Consideration of a petition

(1)The Clerk shall, if satisfied that the petition meets the requirements specified under this Act, forward the petition to the Speaker for reporting in the county assembly.
(2)A petition that is reported in a county assembly under this Act shall be considered in accordance with the Standing Orders of the county assembly.
(3)The relevant county assembly committee may, when considering the petition—
(a)invite the petitioner to clarify or submit such further information as the committee may consider necessary; and
(b)make a site visit if it is deemed necessary to do so.
(4)The relevant county assembly committee shall respond to the petitioner by way of a report addressed to the petitioner and tabled in the county assembly and no debate on or in relation to the report shall be allowed except on the recommendation of the chairperson of the committee and with the approval of the speaker.
(5)The Clerk shall, within fourteen days of the decision of the relevant committee or the county assembly, in writing, notify the petitioner of the decision of the county assembly.

6. Register of petitions

(1)The Clerk shall keep and maintain a register in which shall be recorded all petitions and supporting documents, and the decisions of the county assembly on the petitions.
(2)The register of petitions under subsection (1) shall be accessible to the public during working hours.

7. [Spent]

SCHEDULE [s. 3]

FORM OF PETITION

Petition to the county assembly of.................(state the relevant County)I/We, the undersigned,(Here, identify in general terms, who the petitioner or petitioners are, for example, citizens of Kenya, residents of County, workers of industry, etc.)DRAW the attention of the county assembly to the following:(Here, briefly state the reasons underlying the request for the intervention of the county assembly by outlining the grievances or problems and by summarizing the facts which the petitioner or petitioners wish the county assembly to consider.)THAT[Here confirm that efforts have been made to have the matter addressed by the relevant body, and it failed to give any response or a satisfactory response.]THAT[Here confirm that the issues in respect of which the petition is made are not pending before any court of law, or constitutional or legal body.]WHEREFORE your humble petitioner(s) Pray that the county assembly—(Here, set out the prayer by stating in summary what action the petitioner(s) wish the county assembly to take or refrain from.)And your PETITIONER(S) will ever Pray.Name of petitioner.......................Full Address........................National ID or Passport No....................Signature/ Thumb impression...................This form may contain such variations as the circumstances of each case may require
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History of this document

31 December 2022 this version
27 July 2020
Commenced
17 July 2020
Read this version
09 July 2020
Assented to