Members of Parliament (MPs) have urged Kenyans to be involved in the public participation on Bills before they are assented to law, amid heated debate on the recently enacted Cybercrime Act.
Speaking on Thursday, October 23, members of the Departmental Committee on Finance and National Planning urged Kenyans to actively participate in the lawmaking process, expressing concern that the public was often misled by falsehoods about enacted Bills.
The lawmakers, who were speaking during an engagement on the Capital Markets (Amendment) Bill, 2025, and the Government Owned Enterprises Bill, 2025, noted that the public failed to engage when opportunities for public participation arose.
"We want to congratulate you for honouring our invitation to share your perspectives on these two Bills,” noted committee member and Kesses MP Julius Rutto.
We want to encourage, especially young people, to participate in law-making rather than be reactive when laws have been enacted, yet they had a chance to state their standpoints,” he added.
Their message came as the country is engaged in a raging debate on the newly-assented Computer Misuse and Cybercrimes (Amendment) Bill, 2024, with critics arguing that the new law appears less about regulating genuine cybercrime and more about political control and monitoring of online spaces.
This is particularly after several provisions of the law give the government powers to block websites or apps, remove content, or shut down digital platforms, which has raised alarm that the law could be used to stifle dissent, investigative journalism, and legitimate online expression.
Further, under the new law, computer misuse has been expanded to mean any unauthorised system access or modification, and acts of cybercrime will include ICT-enabled offences targeting networks or data.
The very high jail terms and fines have raised eyebrows on fairness and Kenya’s commitment to digital rights.
For example, the penalty for cyber harassment, which is defined as communication that an individual knows or ought to know could cause emotional, reputational, safety, or property harm, is a fine of up to Ksh20 million, imprisonment for up to 10 years, or both.
The uproar led to a petition being filed seeking the implementation of the Bill to be halted. The High Court granted their request, issuing conservatory orders suspending its enforcement.
Justice Lawrence Mugambi issued the conservatory orders on Wednesday, October 22, effectively stopping the enforcement, implementation, and operation of Section 27(1)(b), (c), and (2) of the amended Act. These were the sections of the Computer Misuse and Cybercrimes Act that received changes in the bill introduced to Parliament in August 2024.
President William Ruto, while reacting to the ruling, insisted that the piece of legislation was amended for the benefit of all Kenyans.
Speaking on Thursday, October 23, during the burial of Inspector General Douglas Kanja's father, he accused a section of political leaders of attempting to fuel political tensions in the country by spreading false information.
