Milimani law courtThe High Court has ordered the expedited hearing of a petition seeking to compel Parliament to disclose records showing how individual Members of Parliament participated in the final vote on the Finance Bill, 2026.
Justice Patricia Nyaundi directed that the main petition be fast-tracked, setting timelines for the parties to file their responses and submissions ahead of a hearing scheduled for October 15, 2026.
"I consider that in the interest of justice and for the prudent utilisation of scarce judicial time that we dispense with the hearing of the Notice of Motion and expedite the hearing of the main petition," she directed.
The petition was filed by Francis Awino, who argues that members of the public should be able to establish which MPs were present, absent, excused or participated in the final vote on legislation with direct implications for taxation and public finances.
Awino has raised questions over reports that 162 of the National Assembly's 349 members participated in the final vote, with 122 voting in favour and 40 against, leaving 187 MPs who did not participate.
The petitioner is not asking the court to determine how any particular MP should have voted.
Instead, he seeks orders requiring Parliament to preserve, disclose and publish records capable of showing the participation of individual legislators.
Among the records sought are attendance registers, the final vote and proceedings, Hansard reports, division lists, quorum records, electronic voting reports and records indicating whether members were absent, excused, on leave, abstained or voted.
Awino argues that the final vote is a critical stage of the legislative process as it represents Parliament's institutional decision on whether proposed legislation should proceed to become law.
He maintains that aggregate voting figures alone are insufficient and that Kenyans should have meaningful access to information showing how their elected representatives discharged their constitutional responsibilities.
The petition challenges what Awino describes as inadequate disclosure of parliamentary voting information and invokes several constitutional provisions, including Articles 1, 10, 35, 73, 94, 95, 96, 118, 201 and 232, alongside the Access to Information Act and parliamentary Standing Orders.
Justice Nyaundi, however, declined to certify the matter as urgent for hearing during the court vacation. Instead, she ordered that the substantive petition be expedited, finding that this would serve the interests of justice and the prudent use of judicial time.
The respondents have until September 22, 2026, to file their responses. Awino is required to file a further affidavit and submissions by September 29, while the respondents will have until October 8 to file their submissions.
The matter will then come up for highlighting of submissions on October 15, 2026.
The petition places Parliament's transparency obligations and the public's ability to scrutinise the participation of elected representatives in a key Finance Bill vote at the centre of the dispute.
