The Kenya National Civil Society Centre wants the National Cohesion and Integration Commission to quash its earlier decision to call for suspension of Facebook.
The civil society group said while there are concerns over alleged misuse by the users, a shutdown would undermine the right to freedom of expression, virtual assembly and association of the Kenyan voters.
In the statement, executive director Suba Churchill termed any suspension a “too-heavy-handed measure” as Kenyans need it to exchange ideas and information for them to make informed choices.
“We want to make a special appeal to the commission to allow Facebook, other social media and all traditional platforms to operate and thrive without any fear of being shut down on account of misuse by subscribers,” he said.
“While we agree with NCIC that there are indeed massive instances of abuse of some of the social media by subscribers to spread hate speech ahead of the poll, this would undermine their rights.”
On Friday, NCIC chairman Samuel Kobia issued a seven-day ultimatum to Facebook to clean up hate speech on its platform or else it recommends its suspension for failure to comply with Kenya's laws.
Kobia said the commission has had interactions with Facebook, where they have raised concern over incidences of hate speech being posted on the platform.
The chairperson also convened a meeting with the officials from the social media platform, Communication Authority of Kenya and ministries of Interior and ICT to discuss the matter.
Churchill, however, said a significant number of undecided voters a few days to the election makes social media platforms such as Facebook essential.
Lack of civic and political education for the last 10 years of the Jubilee administration, he said, is to blame for the rampant misuse of social media in the country.
Elections, he added, are not only about casting a vote in fair conditions, but about ensuring citizens are informed about candidates, parties and their political platforms.
Freedom of expression, he said, was not only important to citizens, but also candidates to various seats who use it to communicate their messages to the public.
(edited by Amol Awuor)
