Act to ensure individuals lose proprietary hold of parties

Koki Muli

Article 16 of the Political Parties Act (PPA) provides that a political party which has been fully registered under this Act shall be a corporate body with perpetual succession and a common seal. Political parties shall be capable of acquiring and disposing property, suing and being sued. This provision also requires a political party, which has been issued with a certificate of full registration, to submit within 60 days to the Registrar, a written declaration giving details of all assets and expenditure including all contributions, donations or pledges whether in cash or in kind, as initial assets of the political party by its founding members in respect of the first year of its existence.

This is aimed at regulating the investment an individual can make to a political party to ensure they (political parties) acquire the characteristics of public institutions of governance and democracy. Thus, the PPA is attempting to spread the stakes in political parties so that individuals loosen proprietary hold on them – no more "chama kina wenyewe".

The written declaration should state the sources of all funds and other assets of the political party and other relevant and required information, and be supported by a statutory declaration made by the person designated to issue such a declaration by the governing body of the political party. This means that political parties are required by law to designate individuals and assign specific responsibilities to them, which are known by the Registrar and public to avoid confusion.

Within 30 days after receiving the declaration, the Registrar shall publish it in the Kenya Gazette and in at least one daily newspaper with nationwide circulation. If a political party fails to submit or submits a declaration with false material facts/particulars, in addition to any other penalty under the law, the Registrar shall, through notification in two daily newspapers with national circulation, deregister it.

Articles 17 and 18 aim to ensure political parties become genuine national and public institutions of democracy and governance; provides that a political party shall maintain at its head office and at each of its county office in a specified form an accurate and authentic record of a register of its members in a form prescribed in the Second Schedule; copy of its constitution; copy of its policies and plans (agenda/manifesto).

Particulars of contributions/donations or pledges in cash/kind made by the founding members of the political party; estimates of its expenditure in accordance with the laws relating to public finance management; and the particulars of its property, the time and mode of its acquisition. The provision also requires every political party to ensure copies of its latest audited books of accounts in accordance with the principles of accounting having regard to the purpose of this Act are kept in all its branch offices. The audited accounts must show all the financial transactions and records of assets and liabilities of the political party; the sources of funds and names, addresses and other particulars of contributors of membership dues; donations (cash/kind); indirect contributions and all receipts and disbursements, including income and expenditure transactions. The provision makes it a crime for any person to interfere with, damages or destroys the records of a registered political party.

The practice of "cooking" books of accounts of political parties will become a thing of the past if the PPA is to be faithfully implemented by the Registrar, who will be at liberty to inspect financial and other records of political parties to ensure compliance. In fact, members will also be allowed, at a small fee, to inspect and obtain copies of financial records of a political party. Furthermore, it is an offence for the chairperson or secretary-general to refuse to give the Registrar copies/extracts of records/information when required to.

The writer is an elections and constitutional law expert and lecturer, South Eastern University College.