Office of the Citizen is the logical evolution of years’-long efforts of the Okoa Uchumi Campaign, a citizen-led civil society initiative founded in 2019 to champion transparency and accountability in fiscal governance in Kenya.
In 2025, Social Accountability Champions in Vihiga County, with support from TISA, carried out a shadow audit of the Vihiga County Hospital Plaza. This is a flagship health investment project first launched in 2015. The aim was to complement the Auditor General’s audit by providing a citizen-led perspective on whether the project has delivered value for money and met its intended health service goals.
The Community Scorecard (CSC) initiative, implemented by TISA with support from URAIA Trust and the Royal Danish Embassy (Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark in Kenya), was carried out across the five Sub-County Hospitals (SCH) in Vihiga County: Sabatia SCH, Hamisi SCH, Emusire SCH, Luanda SCH, and Lyanaginga SCH. The process created a structured platform for citizens, health providers, and county officials to jointly assess the quality of health services, identify challenges, and develop solutions through joint action planning.
This Gender Analysis Report explores the agri-food governance systems of Kiambu County, with a focus on the dairy, poultry, horticulture, and avocado value chains. It examines how societal norms and the division of power and resources—within households, across markets, and in policy-making spaces differentially affect men and women.
TISA envisions a Citizen-led public accountability for good governance. To achieve this, TISA recognizes the need for a multifaceted approach that addresses the root causes of social inequality and injustice. At the core of TISA’s strategy is the belief that active citizen engagement catalyzes social accountability and change. TISA will work to strengthen the capacity of citizens and civil society organizations (CSOs) to engage with government institutions and oversight commissions, both demanding accountability and speaking truth to power.
The Okoa Uchumi campaign1 (OUC) is a civil society initiative of over 40 organizations formed with the primary objective of promoting political accountability in Kenya’s public finance management. The campaign is committed to the quest for deep, meaningful and lasting transformation of Kenya’s economic systems, towards a system that upholds the principles of inclusion, equity, accountability, and above all, respects and adheres to the constitution.
The Institute for Social Accountability (TISA), as part of and the Convenor of the Okoa
Uchumi Coalition, has closely been monitoring the escalating public debt crisis in
Kenya. Since 2019, Kenya has increasingly relied on the International Monetary Fund
(IMF) for loan redemption, with IMF loans growing from Ksh. 49.2 billion as of June
2019 to Ksh. 421.5 billion as of December 2023. This is a situation that demands
immediate attention and action.
The High Court ruling declaring the National Government Constituency Development Fund (NG-CDF 2015) unconstitutional is a vital milestone in ensuring separation of power, support for devolution and respect for the principles public finance management in Kenya.
TISA defines social accountability as the process by which citizens hold duty-bearers responsible for their actions. This involves ensuring that individuals, agencies, and organizations, particularly those in the public sector, execute their powers under established standards, whether mutually agreed upon or not. TISA operates on the premise of addressing the challenge of holding duty-bearers accountable during the five-year intervals between election cycles.
The Institute for Social Accountability (TISA), as part of and the Convenor of the Okoa Uchumi Coalition, has closely been monitoring the escalating public debt crisis in Kenya. Since 2019, Kenya has increasingly been reliant on the International Monetary Fund for loan redemption, with IMF loans growing from Ksh. 49.2 billion as of June 2019 to Ksh. 421.5 billion as of December 2023. This is a situation that demands immediate attention and action.