Cybercrime law a threat to freedom of speech

President William Ruto signed eight bills into law on Wednesday last week. Among the new laws is the Computer Misuse and Cybercrime (Amendment) Bill 2024, which legal experts and human rights defenders opine criminalises all forms of dissent.

It is chilling that despite boasting about having the most progressive constitution in the world, one that guarantees citizens freedom of speech and expression, the government is hellbent on controlling what netizens post on social media. Those who go against the new law risk incarceration or paying hefty fines.

Under this law, any person who makes a post or comment that offends another party is liable to a fine of up to Sh20 million or a jail term of up to 10 years. The State, no doubt, seeks to hide behind this oppressive law to silence critics. However, it must be called out for being offensive and running counter to the provisions of the Constitution.

The government seems to have overlooked the fact that gagging social media as a means to silencing dissent will not produce the desired effect. If the Gen Z demonstrations in Nepal teach us anything, it is that attempts to silence the masses often have the opposite effect of intensifying anti-establishment protests. The Nepal demos erupted following the government ban of social media.

In the ever-changing world, social media has become the most convenient tool for youth activism in the face of deliberate efforts by some governments to crack down on those who oppose them. In the aftermath of the Kenya Gen Z protests in June 2024, there were disappearances, extrajudicial killings, abductions and arrests that caused national outrage.

State persecution

The State's recourse to such methods that undermine democratic gains made over the years, drove youth agitation to the social media. As it were, social media gave them refuge from State persecution and has enabled them to organise, create awareness, and hold the government to account and call for change without exposing themselves to Sstate brutality.

The government, unfortunately, appears intent on stifling dissenting voices on social media, hence the passage of draconian laws that limit free speech. It doesn't fool anybody that the government claims its intention is to contain cybercrime. That is clearly not the intent. This could a perfect cover for the State to gag Kenyans calling for accountability on social media.

The manner and timing of the law is suspect and a pointer to the mischief behind the whole thing. Ruto signed the bills into law a few hours before announcing the death of former Prime Minister Raila Odinga.

The State might have hoped the shock of Raila's death would take attention away from the passage of the law. But then, for how long? The government should stop underestimating the intelligence of Kenyans. If Ruto truly believes in what Raila stood for, part of which is the freedom of speech and expression, he should have the Computer Misuse and Cybercrime (Amendment) Bill 2024 repealed.