Kenya will begin publishing its bilateral agreements and treaties with other countries in a bid to promote transparency and accountability, Prime Cabinet Secretary and Foreign Affairs CS Musalia Mudavadi has announced.
As part of a broader “open government policy,” the government will no longer treat such international deals as confidential documents. Instead, they will be made publicly available once Parliament approves them.
Mudavadi said the Ministry of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs will upload all approved treaties and Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) to its official online portal. This move aims to give Kenyans easy access to vital information that directly affects their lives, especially those living or working abroad.
“We do not intend to hide any information, and we will share it with Kenyans because they are entitled to it,” he stated. “Once any MoU is concluded, it shall be made available to relevant parliamentary committees. We are fully committed to open governance.”
The CS noted that a sessional paper on Kenya’s foreign policy is currently in the works. Once adopted, the policy will drive sweeping reforms, including the mandatory publication of all bilateral treaties and agreements that receive Parliament’s approval.
This initiative comes in response to mounting concern over lack of transparency in government contracts, particularly those related to labour export. Kisii Senator Richard Onyonka raised the alarm in Parliament, arguing that hidden clauses in international labour agreements have contributed to the suffering of Kenyan workers abroad.
“The reason why our people keep suffering out there is because most of those agreements are hidden,” Onyonka told the Senate. “No one knows what’s written in those agreements or understands the terms.”
Kenya’s International Treaties and MoUs
In response, Mudavadi reassured legislators that the government has already made progress. Kenya has signed bilateral labour agreements with Germany and Austria, and 19 more are currently under negotiation. He added that Kenya is actively engaging with countries like Saudi Arabia and Qatar to ensure labour migration adheres to international legal and human rights standards.
“Each country has its own issues, and we are navigating them through bilateral talks,” he said. “We are making good progress and aim to accelerate where possible.”
He emphasized that Kenya’s international labour strategy goes beyond low-skilled workers. The government is also developing a skills policy to help professionals such as doctors, teachers, and technicians find opportunities abroad under structured, rights-based agreements.
“We’re talking about 3.5 million Kenyans living and working in different parts of the world,” Mudavadi said. “These negotiations aren’t just about labourers. Our professionals must also benefit.”
Senator Onyonka Questions Ethnic Bias in Foreign Job Placements
However, the debate turned contentious when Senator Onyonka questioned the fairness of overseas job distribution. He claimed that all 400 Kenyans working in Iowa, USA, hail from a single community and demanded a guarantee of inclusivity in future placements.
“Is the Prime Cabinet Secretary aware that all of the 400 Kenyans working in Iowa in the USA come from one Kenyan community? Can you promise this House that when those positions come out and are going to be distributed to Kenyans, especially those targeting certain areas, that all our 47 counties are going to be included and will get their small share of the cake of whatever the government is baking?” Onyonka asked.
Mudavadi denied any deliberate bias, explaining that most overseas job recruitments are conducted by private sector players, not the state. Still, he assured Parliament that the government would not allow ethnic-based discrimination in labour export.
“The government will not support or tolerate any ethnic-driven arrangements,” he said. “Some of these issues are historical, and we all know them.”
