Senate Mashinani: Bringing Senators to Kenya’s Counties
BY BEATRIZ REY
The recent “Global Innovations in Democracy” convening in Washington, DC featured several examples of “democratic innovations” from citizens panels to uses of artificial intelligence in parliaments worldwide. One of the most notable examples, however, was Kenya’s “Senate Mashinani,” in which the entire Kenyan Senate relocates from the capitol in Nairobi to legislate from one of the country’s 47 counties.
I reached out to Kenyan Senate authorities for more details on the program.
The project has four goals:
promoting the role and work of the Senate;
highlighting existing and new opportunities for engagement with the legislative process;
developing and strengthening partnerships with counties; and
providing opportunities for local assemblies to learn and share best practices with Senators.
The Kenyan Constitution allows either house of parliament to have sessions outside of Nairobi.
A multi-step process determines which counties Senators will relocate to. The Senate Directorate of Legislative and Procedural Services sends a list of potential candidates to the Senate Board of Management, which recommends the most suitable ones to the Senate Business Committee (SBC). After being informed of viable candidates by SBC, the Clerk of the Senate sends a team of Senate staff to assess the capacity of local assemblies to hold sessions. Parameters include the capacity of the local assembly floor, committee rooms and staff offices, availability of town halls, electric power backup, suitable accommodation and transportation, health and catering facilities, and overall security.
The Senate Mashinani met for one week in Uasin, Gishu, Kitui and Turkana counties in 2018, 2019, and 2023, respectively. While Senators keep their regular schedule while outside of the capital, floor and committee activities highlight the interests of specific counties and citizens can interact with committees. For instance, in Kitui, the Standing Committee on Agriculture, Livestock, and Fisheries held public and stakeholders’ meetings to debate mung beans. The meetings led to the proposal of the Mung Beans Bill, which was approved by the Senate and has been referred to the National Assembly for consideration.
The implementation of Senate Mashinani requires extensive planning and coordination. Guaranteeing technical infrastructure is another concern as the Senate relies on a complex network of ICT systems to function effectively.
The Senate is responsible for paying the cost of relocation, with funds allocated by the Directorate of Legislative and Procedural Services.
Despite the proliferation of myriad tech-enabled “modernization” solutions, Kenya’s Senate Mashinani is a reminder that often the most effective way for lawmakers to connect with the people they serve is to meet them — literally — where they are. We are grateful to the Directorate staff for sharing information for this article.
Does your legislature use innovative in-person engagement strategies? We would love to hear about it! Please reach out to beatriz@popvox.org to share your stories.
