The President of the Kenya School of Law, Joshua Okayo, alongside two others, has filed a petition to the National Assembly seeking to amend the Computer Misuse and Cybercrimes Act.
In a statement confirming the filing of the petition on Monday, June 23, Okayo cited the recent crackdown on Gen Z using social media to air their views as the reason why these amendments were crucial.
"We, the Gen Z, were born in a digital age and our freedom to explore the digital space shall not be curtailed by a few individuals who know not integrity," he stated.
Specifically, the petition called for the repeal of Sections 22 and 23 of the act, which have landed several Kenyans on the wrong side of the law, including most recently, Rose Njeri and Albert Ojwang.
"Sections 22 and 23 have been weaponised by the State and powerful individuals to punish critics and silence public discourse on certain issues," part of the petition read.
"Since 2018, many social media users, including bloggers, journalists, whistle-blowers, and digital content creators, have been arbitrarily arrested, harassed, detained or prosecuted for nothing more than a meme, cartoon or post that is merely said to be 'false' or 'defamatory.'"
Section 22 of the act criminalises misinformation and the publication of "false, misleading, or fictitious" data, punishable with a fine of up to Ksh5 million or imprisonment for a term of up to two years or both.
As for Section 23, it also criminalises "false" publications that are likely to discredit the reputation of others, punishable with a fine of up to Ksh5 million or imprisonment for up to 10 years or both.
The petition also seeks to have the National Assembly comprehensively review the Act to ensure that any restrictions on the freedom of expression are clear, reasonable, and limited to addressing the public interest matters set out in the constitution, specifically under Article 33.
This Article guarantees the freedom of expression, which includes the freedom to seek, receive, or impart information or ideas and the freedom of artistic creativity.
It also calls for the initiation of the necessary amendments to align the Act with court decisions and Kenya's international and regional human rights obligations.
Lastly, the petitioners urged the lawmakers to take the appropriate measures to prevent and stop the continued abuse of the machinery of the criminal justice system to pursue extraneous goals, selfish private interests or to advance disputes that are purely civil in nature.
