The Government of Kenya has been ordered by a Mombasa High court to provide two activists with agreements relating to the construction of the Sh450 billion standard gauge railway (SGR) line project.
This is after Khelef Khalifa and Wanjiru Gikonyo sought to have all contracts, agreements and studies related to the construction and operations of the SGR project made public.
Justice John Mativo also issued an order declaring that failure by the Attorney-General, Transport and National Treasury Principal Secretaries to provide the information sought is a violation of the right to access to information.
“It is clear that the respondents’ attempt to hide behind the provisions of sections 3(6) & (7) of the Official Secrets Act flies in the face of Article 35, section 29 of the Access to Information Act and falls to be rejected,” ruled Justice Mativo.
The two argued that keeping the documents confidential violates the law and discourages transparency in governance.
Justice Mativo ruled that public officers have a constitutional duty to make information available to Kenyans.
Mativo further said that any restriction on access to information from the government must have a genuine purpose and demonstrable effect of protecting the national security interest.
He further said such a restriction is justified only if its effect is to protect a country’s existence or its territorial integrity.