The Senate Standing Committee on Justice, Legal Affairs and Human Rights has turned away officials from the Minorities and Marginalised Affairs Unit at the Executive Office of the President and the National Gender and Equality Commission (NGEC), directing them to return better prepared with comprehensive submissions.

The committee, chaired by Hillary Sigei, was considering a statement sought in September 2023 by Catherine Mumma on the status of Indigenous peoples in Kenya. The statement raised key concerns, including the legal definition of Indigenous communities, their classification, and which state department is mandated to handle related matters.

According to a statement by the Parliament of Kenya on Tuesday, May 5, 2026, the Senate committee called for an urgent and authoritative legal definition of Indigenous peoples in Kenya, faulting state agencies for failing to provide clarity on the matter more than a decade after key institutions were established.

Following the request, the committee had written to the Minorities and Marginalised Affairs Unit at the Executive Office of the President and the National Gender and Equality Commission (NGEC) to respond.

Lack of distiction

The submission from the Minorities and Marginalised Affairs Unit at the Executive Office of the President exposed the problematic conflation of the terms “indigenous”, “minority” and “marginalised”.

Sigei criticised the lack of distinction, stating that the terms cannot be used interchangeably and stressing the need for a clear legal framework. He also questioned whether Kenya has fully considered its international obligations in defining Indigenous peoples.

“The terms Indigenous and minority are not interchangeable. We need an authoritative legal position on who qualifies as Indigenous in Kenya, and whether our international obligations have been considered,” Sigei said.

Senator Mumma expressed frustration over the prolonged ambiguity, noting that 14 years after the establishment of the NGEC, the country still lacks a clear-cut definition. She warned that continued reliance on vague or borrowed concepts risks excluding communities that genuinely qualify as Indigenous.

“It is unacceptable that fourteen years after the Commission was established, we still lack a black and white definition. We must demystify these terms and stop importing colonial constructs that risk excluding genuine communities,” she stated.

“Successive governments continue to send mixed signals on the subject of indigenous peoples,” Sen. Mumma added.

Lowoi’s response

Appearing before the committee, Josphat Lowoi from the Executive Office of the President acknowledged the inconsistencies in past reporting and admitted that the terms had often been used interchangeably.

He told the committee that the unit would consult the Attorney-General’s office and return with a clearer and more authoritative position.

“We acknowledge that past reporting used these terms interchangeably. We commit to consulting the Attorney-General and returning with a clearer position,” he told the committee.