The Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC) and The Institute of Social Accountability (TISA) Kenya has filed a lawsuit against the Treasury Cabinet Secretary and the Attorney General requesting for information on Kenya’s debt treaties, agreements and contracts with other countries and International Financial Organizations (IFO).
Through a statement released yesterday, they slammed Ukur Yatani and Kihara Kariuki for operating in what it termed as an “opaque and shadowy manner” in regards to Kenya’s debt, in spite of the Constitution which provides for public disclosure of all aspects of borrowing.
“Despite constitutional and legal provisions that require public disclosure of all aspects of public borrowing, the National Executive continues to operate in an opaque, and shadowy manner,” read the statement.
The government has broken multiple constitutional obligations, according to civil society organizations, by refusing to include Kenyans and share details of domestic and international loans with them.
Every citizen has the right to access information kept by the government, according to Article 35 of the constitution, and public participation in public financial affairs must be open and accountable, according to Article 201 (a).
This lawsuit follows the country’s increasing debt and high cost of living, which have been blamed in part on the Russia-Ukraine crisis and the Coronavirus pandemic.
The national debt stock stood at Sh7.99 trillion in September 2021, up 19 per cent from the debt stock in June 2020. Domestic debt accounted for 48 per cent of the debt stock, while external debt accounted for 52 per cent.
Furthermore, the debt stock at this level accounts for 88.8 per cent of the Sh9 trillion debt ceiling and has a present value of Public Debt-to-GDP ratio of 64.2, compared to a threshold of 55.