Citizens are continuing to face delays in getting answers from public institutions, with the Commission on Administrative Justice revealing that more than seven out of every 10 complaints filed in 2025 had not been resolved by the close of the reporting period.
The Commission handled 813 complaints against public institutions between January and December last year. Of these, 228 cases, equivalent to 28 per cent, were concluded, while 579 were still awaiting resolution.
The findings came as the Commission opened a three-day high-level meeting in Nairobi on Tuesday bringing together officials from 54 institutions, among them nine state departments.
The forum is seeking to address weaknesses in the way public complaints are handled and improve compliance with the Access to Information Act, 2016.
The Commission said the discussions will focus on making it easier to refer complaints to the right institutions, defining responsibilities more clearly and creating better ways of communicating with complainants.
It also wants public bodies to improve their response to complaints, deal with pending cases and restore public confidence in systems meant to provide administrative justice.
Nine institutions accounted for 630 complaints, making up 77 per cent of all cases recorded by the Commission in 2025.
The level of unresolved cases among these institutions varied, with the Ministry of Interior recording the lowest pending rate at 40 per cent and KPLC the highest at 89 per cent.
KPLC, NTSA, Immigration, SHA/SHIF and the Pension Department each had more than 80 per cent of their complaints pending.
The Commission said the figures do not capture cases that had been carried forward from earlier years, meaning the actual number of unresolved complaints is higher than the 579 cases recorded from the 2025 intake alone.
Delays emerged as the main reason for complaints, making up 42 per cent of cases handled among the nine institutions with the largest number of complaints.
The issue was particularly common in the Pension Department and Immigration, where complaints about delays accounted for nearly 80 per cent of the cases.
Other concerns raised by members of the public included unresponsive official conduct, which accounted for 10 per cent of complaints, unfair treatment at nine per cent and inefficiency at seven per cent.
The Commission also recorded allegations involving abuse of power and unlawful conduct by officials in some institutions, with the Ministry of Interior and Ministry of Education among those mentioned.
Despite the overall backlog, the CAJ said some institutions had recorded better results in dealing with complaints.
The Ministry of Interior received 114 complaints and managed to resolve 60 per cent of them, giving it the strongest resolution performance among the nine institutions with the highest number of cases.
The Commission said the results provide an opportunity to examine what is working at better-performing institutions and identify approaches that could be adopted elsewhere.
Alongside the complaints backlog, the Commission reported a sharp rise in cases involving access to information.
Applications seeking a review of access to information matters increased from 32 in the 2016/2017 financial year to 654 in 2025/2026.
The Commission said the increase represents more than a 20-fold rise over the period.
In total, 2,260 applications for review were received by the Commission over the 10 years.
According to the CAJ, the increase shows that more members of the public are aware of their constitutional right to access information and are increasingly prepared to challenge institutions when they are denied that right.
However, the Commission said the growing number of applications also points to gaps in compliance within public institutions.
One of the issues highlighted is the failure by some institutions to publish information proactively, despite Section 5 of the Access to Information Act requiring certain information to be made available to the public.
This means citizens sometimes have to make formal requests for information that should already be accessible.
The Commission also pointed to cases where institutions take too long to respond to information requests or provide inadequate responses despite the deadlines set by law.
Some public institutions do not have properly designated and empowered Information Access Officers.
Others lack internal guidelines, procedures and systems for monitoring and tracking information requests, while staffing levels remain inadequate in some cases.
Poor management of records and incomplete digitisation were also cited as factors making it harder for institutions to provide information promptly.
The Commission further raised concerns over delays in correcting, updating or annotating personal records where the information held is inaccurate, incomplete or outdated.
Public institutions are required to file annual access to information reports with the Commission by June 30.
The reports are expected to show the number of requests received, how long they took to process, cases where information was denied, fees charged and resources allocated to handling access to information matters.
The CAJ said compliance with the reporting requirement remains weak despite repeated reminders and guidance to public institutions.
The Commission is now urging institutions to change how they approach access to information by making openness part of routine public service rather than waiting for citizens to make formal demands.
Public bodies have been asked to publish information of public interest, strengthen their internal systems for handling information requests and comply with legal response deadlines.
They have also been urged to improve records management and digitisation, keep personal information accurate and current and submit annual reports within the required period.
The Commission said the ultimate goal is to resolve information access issues before they become formal disputes requiring review.
It said an effective system should allow citizens to obtain information directly from public institutions without unnecessary delays or intervention by the Commission.
The CAJ will continue assessing institutions through compliance reviews, audits on proactive disclosure, training programmes and engagement with stakeholders.
It will also increase monitoring through access to information compliance scorecards, follow-up on the work of Information Access Officers and reviews of records management and digitisation systems.
The Commission said access to information remains a constitutional right that supports transparency, accountability and public participation in governance.
It noted that timely access to accurate information enables citizens to understand government actions, participate in public affairs, track the use of public resources and demand accountability from public institutions.
The CAJ called on public institutions to make openness, transparency and timely provision of information part of their normal operations and service to the public.