National Values and Principles of Governance

There are Sixteen (16) National Values and Principles of Governance as contained in Article 10 (2) (a-d) of the Constitution of Kenya 2010. These include:

1. Patriotism

Patriotism refers to love, loyalty and devotion to one’s country of origin or settlement. It calls for ones support to the nation acknowledging the challenges that face the country. It is about service to the country and having an identity as a Kenyan. Kenyans should forge a common front in pursuit of national development.

2. National Unity

National Unity refers to the deliberate decision to work in concert with others in pursuit of common goals. It is a choice to work as a team in tackling the challenges that Kenyans face as a nation. It is an intentional willingness to allow what binds us together to take priority over what sets us apart from one another.

3. Sharing and Devolution of Power

Power sharing refers to a political arrangement in which opposing groups in a society participate in government. State power is shared between different parties and not concentrated in one and this in itself promotes national cohesion. On the other hand, devolution is the transfer of power from a central government to local units as espoused in Chapter 11 of the Constitution of Kenya, 2010.

4. Rule of Law

Rule of law refers to individuals, persons, and government submitting to obey, and be regulated by law. It is a legal maxim that states that no one is above the law, and no person can be punished by the government except for breach of the law. Rule of law stands in contrast to the idea that the sovereign is above the law. This value will fight impunity which is a big challenge in our society.

5. Democracy and Participation of the People

Participation of the people refers to a political culture of involving people at all levels of decision making; where everyone is equally bestowed with the powers to exercise personal skills, access information, utilize opportunities, elect their representatives, express their views, participate in governance without prohibition. It also refers to the right to contribute to societal and national issues particularly in reference to leadership and governance. Democracy is a legislative system in which all citizens exercise direct and equal participation in the running the affairs of their country.

6. Human Dignity

Human dignity refers to the honor bestowed on individuals and people and the upholding of their rights as spelt out in the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, regardless of one’s status. The human beings have an innate right to respect and ethical treatment. Human dignity is the idea that all humans should be treated with love and respect simply because they are humans and regardless of class, race, gender, nationality, culture, sex, education, religion or any other divisions.

7. Equity

Equity refers to fairness, impartiality, justice and provision of equal access to national resources and opportunities regardless of gender, disability, age, race, ethnicity, religion or status of individuals. It is about fairness, impartiality and justice. It refers to anything that is fair or equitable that is quality of being impartial, reasonable and fair in all decisions and actions.

8. Social Justice

Social Justice refers to the enjoyment of the rights that enhance the well being of an individual in all aspects of their interaction with one another and promotes solidarity. It also refers to philanthropy and other initiatives to address injustice and poverty. Also refers to the idea of creating a society that is based on the principles of equality and solidarity, that understands and values human rights, and that recognizes the dignity of every human being.

9. Inclusiveness

Inclusiveness refers to affording all people an opportunity to participate in activities, including decision making, that affect their lives and taking into consideration the plight of everyone. A sense of belonging, feeling respected and valued for who you are. It engages each individual and makes him/her feel valued and it is essential to the success of a group/ organization/country.

10. Equality

Equality refers to treatment of everyone with equal measure in society irrespective of their status such as gender, religion, social class, tribe, and race. It also refers to being regarded in equal status in all matters involving rights of individuals, people- groups. A Social state of affairs is where all people in a society have the same status such as security, voting rights, freedom of speech and assembly, extent of property rights, access to education, health care and other social securities.

11. Human Rights

Human Rights refer to GOD-given, inherent, inalienable liberties and entitlements to be enjoyed by all people irrespective of their nationality, race, sex, origin, religion, physical or mental ability without limitations except when in breach of the law or other people’s rights and rights inherent to all nationality, place of residence, sex, national or ethnic origin, color, religion, language. They are interrelated, interdependent and indivisible.

12. Non-discrimination and Protection of the Marginalized

Non-discrimination refers to offering services and taking care of all persons without bias. Protection of the marginalized refers to safeguarding livelihood of those who have challenges or those that do not have a voice in the society and the deliberate consideration of the weaker members of the society. It also refers to fairness in treating people without prejudice irrespective of their gender, ethnic, class, religious, race, geographical or even generational differences.

Protections of the Marginalized is a social process of ensuring that those confined to a lower social standing in society are taken care of such as through affirmative action like the Equalization Fund (Article 204).

13. Good Governance

Good governance refers to having systems and structures through which the exercise of power and authority can be controlled and held to account. It also refers to the prudent management of institutions and resources by those entrusted with the responsibility of overseeing them. Further, it is a process towards collective decision-making and the implementation of those decisions. It also delves into how public institutions conduct their affairs and manage resources in order to guarantee the realization of development, human rights and social welfare.

14. Integrity

Integrity refers to adherence to virtuous, moral and ethical principles. Integrity is about truthfulness, consistency and moral character both in private and public life. It also refers to the quality of being steadfast and consistent about what is right and standing by it. It also refers to the strength and firmness of character in regard to the motivation for one’s actions. This includes the will not to engage in corrupt and other morally questionable deals.

15. Transparency and Accountability

Transparency refers to the requirement to share information and act in an open manner while being held responsible for one’s actions, conduct and management of resources.

Accountability includes accepting responsibility for one’s actions and accepting that leadership is answerable and responsible to the people. It is also about openness, lack of “hidden agendas” accompanied by availability of full information required for collaboration, cooperation, and collective decision-making. Public enterprises & agencies (entrusted with public resources) have to be answerable for fiscal and social responsibilities.

16. Sustainable Development

Sustainable development refers to progress that meets the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Further it refers to a pattern of resource use that aims to meet human needs while preserving the environment so that these needs could be met not only in the present, but also for generations to come.