NAIROBI, Kenya – Renowned gospel musician and rights advocate Reuben Kigame has joined hands with the Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC) in filing a constitutional petition against the Computer Misuse and Cybercrimes (Amendment) Act, 2024, arguing that the law violates fundamental freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution.
The petition, filed at the High Court in Nairobi, targets the amendments signed into law by President William Ruto on October 15, 2025, which the petitioners say threaten privacy, freedom of expression, and media independence.
In their filings, Kigame and KHRC describe the new law as “vague, intrusive, and unconstitutional,” claiming it introduces broad provisions that could erode digital rights and enable state surveillance.
“The provision against false, misleading, or mischievous information is impermissibly vague and creates a severe chilling effect,” the petition states. “This violates Article 33 and is not a reasonable or justifiable limitation under Article 24.”
They argue that the law opens the door to arbitrary arrests and online censorship, warning that fear of criminal charges could discourage free expression and dissent in digital spaces.
One of the most contentious changes is the mandatory verification of social media accounts, which requires users to link their profiles to government-issued identification documents.
The petitioners say this amounts to state surveillance and violates Article 31, which guarantees the right to privacy.
“Asking citizens to reveal their legal names online is unnecessary and excessive, especially in a global digital space where anonymity often protects vulnerable users and whistleblowers,” the petition adds.
The challenge also targets amendments to Section 27 of the principal Act, which introduce penalties for communications said to “cause another person to commit suicide.”
Kigame and KHRC call the clause “unconstitutionally vague,” arguing that it fails to define what constitutes such communication or establish a clear legal threshold for causation, potentially leading to arbitrary prosecutions.
Beyond content-related provisions, the petition faults Parliament for procedural violations, claiming the Bill should have been treated as one “concerning county governments” under Article 110(1) of the Constitution.
They argue that the National Assembly failed to seek the Senate’s concurrence, rendering the process constitutionally defective.
The petitioners also accuse lawmakers of creating a parallel data oversight framework that sidelines the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner (ODPC), thereby undermining the Data Protection Act and diluting safeguards meant to protect personal data from misuse.
The Media Council of Kenya, Kenya Union of Journalists, and the Law Society of Kenya have been listed as interested parties in the case.
Kigame and KHRC are asking the court to declare the entire amendment unconstitutional, null, and void, and to permanently bar the State from enforcing it.
“Unless the court intervenes, the law may entrench digital surveillance, criminalise speech, and erode fundamental freedoms protected by the Constitution,” they warn.
When signing the Bill into law last week, President Ruto said the new set of eight laws would “reinforce our collective commitment to address historical injustices, entrench equity and transparency, and accelerate our national development agenda.”
