Access to Information
(c)
No. 31 of 2016
not later than three years from the date from which this Act begins
to apply to it, computerize its records and information management
systems in order to facilitate more efficient access to information.
18. Offence of alteration, defacement, blocking, erasure, etc
(1) Where an application to access information has been made to a public entity
under section 8 and the applicant would have been entitled, subject to payment of
any fee, to provision of any information in accordance with that section, any person
to whom this section applies commits an offence if he alters, defaces, blocks,
erases, destroys or conceals any record held by the public entity, with the intention
of preventing the disclosure by that entity of all, or any part, of the information
provision of which the applicant would have been entitled.
(2) Subsection (1) applies to the public entity and to any person who, is
employed by, is an officer of, or is subject to the direction of, the public entity.
(3) A person convicted of an offence under subsection (1) shall be liable to a
fine not exceeding five hundred thousand shillings or to imprisonment for a term
not exceeding one year, or to both.
19. Defamatory matter in information released
Where any information provided by a public entity or private body to an applicant
under section 11 was supplied to the public entity or private body by a third
person, the publication to the applicant of any defamatory matter contained in the
information shall be privileged unless the publication is shown to have been made
with malice.
PART V — CONFERMENT ON THE COMMISSION OF
OVERSIGHT AND ENFORCEMENT FUNCTIONS AND POWERS
20. Role of the Commission
(1) The Commission is hereby granted the powers of oversight and
enforcement of this Act.
(2) In the performance of its functions under this Act, the Commission shall be
guided by the national values and principles of the Constitution.
(3) The Commission shall designate one of the Commissioners as "Access to
Information Commissioner" with specific responsibility of performing the functions
assigned to the Commission under this Act.
21. Functions of the Commission
(1) The functions of the Commission shall be to—
(a) investigate, on its initiative or upon complaint made by any person or
group of persons, violation of the provisions of this Act;
(b) request for and receive reports from public entities with respect to the
implementation of this Act and of the Act relating to data protection
and to assess and act on those reports with a view to assessing and
evaluating the use and disclosure of information and the protection of
personal data;
(c) develop and facilitate public education awareness and develop
programmes on right to access to information and right to protection
of personal data;