Parliament is set to take its legislative work closer to the people through the establishment of
Parliamentary Corners in both National and County libraries.

Kenyans will access Bills, Hansard reports, Motions, legislative resolutions, research materials
and other official parliamentary records without necessarily traveling to Nairobi.
This follows the adoption of a report of the Select Committee on Parliamentary Broadcasting and Library by the National Assembly.

Moving the adoption of the Committee’s Report, the Committee’s Chairperson & Turkana
West MP, Hon. Daniel Nanok said the initiative was important at a time when informal public
forums had become increasingly active in discussing Parliamentary affairs, often without
access to verified legislative information.

“We need to devolve Parliament to the people,” said Hon. Nanok, emphasising the need to
create spaces where citizens can access Parliament’s work and participate meaningfully in
democratic processes.

The Chairperson said the proposed Parliamentary Corners would be modelled partly on the
concept of the American Corner at Maktaba Kuu in Nairobi, which provides a dedicated space
for information and public engagement.

During deliberations, the Committee's report received overwhelming support by the MPs who
described the move as a solution to the growing information gap between Parliament and the
public.

Seconding the motion, Hon. Charles Onchoke (Bonchari) confirmed the Committee’s findings
from ground visits across the libraries, which he said demonstrated the urgency of the
initiative.

Supporting the motion, Hon. Stephen Mogaka (West Mugirango) noted that the growing
popularity of informal public debates demonstrated that Kenyans have a strong appetite for
information about Parliament.

Endorsing the initiative, Hon. Julius Rutto (Kesses), emphasised that informal Bunge la
Mwananchi forums has emerged in different parts of the country, creating a situation where
citizens debate proposed laws without access to authentic Parliamentary documents.

He cited an incident at Jeevanjee Gardens where citizens were reportedly debating provisions
of a Finance Bill that had not yet been formulated or tabled before Parliament.
Also weighing his support, Hon. Rindikiri Mugambi (Buuri), pointed out that lack of direct
access to parliamentary information had contributed to misinformation and disinformation.

“Students and researchers should not have to travel all the way to Nairobi to access
parliamentary archives. Parliamentary Corners will allow citizens and scholars to access
verified Parliamentary records,” Hon. Mugambi said, while calling for the digitisation and
secure preservation of legislative records.

He pointed to public participation forums on legislation and impeachment proceedings as
evidence of citizens’ willingness to engage directly with parliamentary processes.

Hon. Nanok said the Parliamentary Corners would go beyond providing documents and
information needed when presenting petitions to Parliament to interaction between citizens
and their elected representatives, while supporting initiatives such as Jua Mbunge Wako
To start off, the Committee has proposed beginning with three pilot Parliamentary Corners
before rolling out to all 61 national and county libraries.