The Problem of Access to Information in African Jurisdictions: Constitutionalism, Citizenship, and Human Rights Discourse

Abstract

This chapter interrogates the idea that African countries are lagging behind the rest of the world in adopting access to information (ATI) practices. It shows that there are three key theoretical elements to understanding the present situation of ATI in African countries. These are, first, the question of constitutionalism and the postcolonial state in Africa; second, the highly contested concept of citizenship in African countries; and last, the rights-based nature of emerging international jurisprudence on ATI, coming mainly from a Latin American context, which may make it less likely that ATI will gain a firm foothold in African tribunals. The chapter closes by pointing to the patrimonial nature of many African political systems, with bureaucracies valued for their loyalty more than for their independence or predictability, and concludes that genuine administrative reform may be a more urgent precondition for transparency in governance than the passing of an ATI law. Keywords:access to information (ATI); African countries; constitutionalism; contested citizenship; international jurisprudence