The Changing Faces of Public Inquiry: Towards a Regulatory Framework for Task Forces in Kenya

Abstract

This project examines the changing faces of public inquiry in Kenya. It demonstrates the transformation of the models of public inquiry in Kenya through different legal and political regimes. This study makes three key arguments. The first argument is that Kenya has had a long history of establishing ad hoc commissions of inquiry to look into matters of public and national concern; nevertheless, in the post-2010 period the government shifted to the use of task forces and other mechanisms. The study argues that this is the case because the Constitution introduced significant structural changes and redesigned institutions that carry out functions incidental to public inquiry. The reconfiguration of these institutions has further diversified and strengthened the practice of public inquiry. Secondly, the study argues that the model of public inquiry employed resonates with the existing legal and political order. The impetus behind the various models of public inquiry is largely motivated by the regime in power and the legal order in place. Thirdly, the study argues that task forces in the Uhuru Kenyatta regime mirror commissions established during Jomo Kenyatta’s regime in that they focus on policy. The study illustrates this by employing a mixed methodological approach incorporating historical and doctrinal research methods. The study employs doctrinal research methodology in interpreting and analyzing legal concepts, principles, and guidelines using reasoning in order to deduct conclusions. The historical method aids in interrogating whether the history of Kenya within the public inquiry sphere has had any normative force in shaping the current trends.