Exploring Kenyan Parliament Communication Channels of Promoting Hansard to Citizens

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to explore Kenyan Parliament communication channels of promoting Hansard to citizens. This purpose is informed by the fact that the Hansard is a critical source of political awareness in enhancing the democratic process and the role of citizens in that process. The problem investigated in the study showed that there is a knowledge gap about Hansard among Kenyans. And the implication of this is that citizens are left in dark about the activities of their elected representatives in parliament, which in turn impedes their capacity to exercise their democratic rights confidently regarding parliamentarians. The objectives of the study were to find out how familiar Kenyans are with the Hansard as well as interacting with it, explore the communication channels used by the Kenyan Parliament to promote citizens’ exposure to the Hansard, find out the preferred channels suggested by Kenyans for the promotion of the Hansard, and to investigate how the news media use the Hansard in their journalistic activities. Exploratory research design and purposive sampling method were used in the study, while data was collected using Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) and interviews. Data was analysed using thematic analysis method. Key findings indicated that most participants were not familiar with the existence of Hansard, and journalists deployed to Kenyan Parliament to cover parliamentary proceedings relied on the content of the Hansard for their news stories. The study concluded that there exists a challenge with how Hansard is promoted and circulated to the public. Based on the findings, the study recommended among other recommendations that Parliament should advertise Hansard in both traditional and new media to expand awareness level among Kenyans.