KHRC sues Treasury CS Yatani, AG Kihara over Kenya’s debt

The Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC) has now sued National Treasury Cabinet Secretary Ukur Yatani and Attorney General Paul Kihara seeking access to information on the country’s debt situation.

KHRC, in a statement released on Thursday, slammed the government 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.

The commission said it wrote to CS Yatani on February 7, 2022 seeking the information, but received no response, terming this as an abuse of the Constitution.

“The Cabinet Secretary, National Treasury and Planning has been increasingly borrowing money on behalf of the national government and Kenyans, and has taken expensive loans bilaterally from States, international financial institutions, and corporations over the past decade,” stated KHRC in the statement.

“The National Executive has also floated bonds both domestically and internationally as means of raising funds. However, the processes of borrowing through loans and raising sums through the floating of sovereign bonds has not been transparent as the Kenyan public is not involved in the process and is only left to rely on stories from the media.”

The statement added: “The Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC) and Wanjiru Gikonyo (the National Coordinator of The Institute for Social Accountability - TISA) have therefore filed a case at the High Court of Kenya in Nairobi seeking to compel the production of information on Kenya's debt on treaties, agreements and contracts signed between Kenya and other States, and international financial institutions, or corporations.”

KHRC said the National Treasury cannot continue to keep borrowing on behalf of Kenya without providing documents relating to the same for the sake of accountability by members of the public.

The commission further added that the purpose of availing the said documents to the public is so as to enable citizens to engage actively on matters of public debt as it affects their cost of living.