Petitions

What is a Petition

A petition is a written prayer to the Assembly by a member of the public requesting the Assembly to consider any matter within its authority, including enacting, amending or repealing any legislation.

Who can Petition the Assembly?

Section 15 of the County Governments Act, 2012 provides for the right for any person to petition the County Assembly. Any person, groups of people or an organization has the right to petition Assembly through the Office of the Clerk.

If satisfied that the petition meets the necessary requirements, the Clerk forwards the petition to the Speaker for tabling in the Assembly and subsequent committal to the relevant Committee.

Requirements for Consideration of a Petition

A petition shall be in the form set out under the Murang’a County Assembly Standing Orders as follows:

1. Must be handwritten, printed or typed;

2. Must be in English or Kiswahili and be written in respectful, decorous and template language;

3. Must be free of alterations and interlineations in its text;

4. Must be addressed to the Assembly;

5. Must have its subject-matter indicated on every sheet if it consists of more than one sheet;

6. Must indicate whether any efforts have been made to have the matter addressed by the relevant body and whether there has been any response from that body or whether the response has been unsatisfactory;

7. Must indicate whether the issues in respect of which the petition is made are pending before any court of law or other constitutional or legal body;

8. Must conclude with a clear, proper and respectful prayer, reciting the definite object of the petitioner or petitioners in regard to the matter to which it relates;

9. Must contain the names, addresses, identification numbers written directly onto the petition and not pasted thereon or otherwise transferred to it;

10. Must not have any letters, affidavits or other documents annexed to it unless the petition relates to a Bill.

11. In case of a petition presented by a Member on behalf of a petitioner, the petition must be counter signed by the Member presenting it and 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.

Duration for Consideration of Petitions

Whether a petition is committed to a Sectoral Committee, the Committee shall, in not more than Sixty calendar days from the time of committal respond to the petitioner by way of a report addressed to the petitioner or petitioners and laid on the table of the Assembly and no debate on or in relation to the report shall be allowed, but the Speaker may, in exceptional circumstances, allow comments or observations in relation to the petitions for not more than twenty minutes.