How to petition Parliament or a public office
Parliament of Kenya · sources read 5 Oct 2026
Every person has the right to present petitions to public authorities and to petition Parliament on any matter within its authority, including asking it to make, change or repeal a law. Write the petition in English or Kiswahili, sign it, and send it to the Clerk of the National Assembly or the Clerk of the Senate; the National Assembly's Public Petitions Committee must respond within 90 days.
- How long
- National Assembly: a committee report within 90 calendar days of committal (Senate: within 60 days)
- Deadline
- The Clerk of the National Assembly must check your petition within 7 days of receiving it.
- Deadline
- A Senate committee has up to 60 calendar days to respond by a report tabled in the Senate.
- Deadline
- The Clerk must tell you in writing what the House decided within 15 days of the decision.
- Where
- The Clerk of the National Assembly or the Clerk of the Senate, Parliament Buildings, Nairobi, by email or in writing (or through your MP or Senator). Formats on parliament.go.ke.
What you need
- The petition itself, with the name, contact details, ID number and signature (or thumbprint) of every petitioner
- Evidence of what you did to have the matter handled by the relevant body first
- If the matter is in court: evidence of the court case or judgment
Steps
- Raise the issue with the relevant office first. Your petition must say what you tried, and whether that body replied or its reply was unsatisfactory.
- Write the petition by hand, print or type it, in English or Kiswahili, in respectful language, and end with a clear 'prayer' saying exactly what you want Parliament to do.
- Send it to the Clerk of the National Assembly using the format on parliament.go.ke (email publicpetitions.nationalassembly@parliament.go.ke), or ask your MP to present it for you.
- For a Senate matter, email the completed petition with a scanned copy of the page showing the petitioners' names and signatures to clerk.senate@parliament.go.ke. The Senate has a template you can use.
- For a county matter (a county law, county services or anything else within the county's authority), petition your county assembly instead. The procedure is set by the Petition to County Assemblies (Procedure) Act and that assembly's Standing Orders.
- Once the petition is reported in the House, the Public Petitions Committee must reply to you by a report within 90 days.
Watch out
- Don't attach letters, affidavits or other documents, except evidence of your efforts with the relevant body and of any court case.
- Signatures, addresses and ID numbers must be written directly on the petition, not pasted or copied onto it.
- A petition is not rejected just because you sent it to the wrong House: the Clerk passes it on to the Clerk of the other House.
- Parliament deals with national matters; county matters go to the county assembly, under its own Standing Orders.
Who this covers
- Every person, not only citizens, can petition Parliament on any matter within its authority, including making, changing or repealing a law.
- Every person also has the right to present petitions to other public authorities, peacefully and unarmed.
- Anyone can petition, using the form in the Act's Schedule: handwritten, printed or typed, in English or Kiswahili, in respectful language.
Official sources (6)
- Constitution of Kenya, 2010 new.kenyalaw.org · read 4 Oct 2026
- National Assembly Standing Orders, 7th Edition (Part XXIII Public Petitions, SO 219-229) parliament.go.ke · read 4 Oct 2026
- Petition to Parliament parliament.go.ke · read 4 Oct 2026
- Petition to Parliament under Articles 37 and 119 of the Constitution (Senate) parliament.go.ke · read 4 Oct 2026
- Petitions to Parliament (Procedure) Act, No. 22 of 2012 new.kenyalaw.org · read 5 Oct 2026
- County Governments Act (Cap. 265, No. 17 of 2012), version of 31 December 2022 new.kenyalaw.org · read 5 Oct 2026