The government has been prohibited from shutting down the internet or interfering with access in any way as the public and Parliament debate the Finance Bill that triggered Gen Z protests and a violent state backlash last year.
The High Court on Wednesday ruled against such tampering by the government or its agents in a pre-emptive suit filed by seven civil society groups and digital rights advocates.
It prohibited any form of internet shutdown, throttling, or interference with digital communications, including social media platforms, telephony and data services until the case is hear and determined.
Countrywide leaderless protests were generally organised online in social media groups last year and the government is anxious to ensure mass protests are not repeated. At least 65 people were killed, according to Amnesty International.
Parliament was stormed and part of it was torched on June 25, the fifth of seven “days of rage” against the Finance Bill and what protesters called government maladministration.
President William Ruto was forced to scrap the Finance Bill, which had been passed by Parliament dominated by his allies.
The suit was brought by the International Commission of Jurists, the Bloggers Association of Kenya, Paradigm Initiative, Kenya Union of Journalists, the Katiba Institute, the Law Society of Kenya, and the Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa.
Petitioners asked the court to declare all internet shutdowns or interference without due process as unconstitutional. They also called for judicial oversight and transparency in managing digital infrastructure and communication networks.
“This legal action responds to credible evidence of deliberate interference, including internet throttling and the blocking of Telegram during the 2024 #RejectFinanceBill protests and the 2024 KCSE examinations,” the petitioners said in a joint statement.
The suit was backed by technical findings from global internet watchdogs, including Cloudflare, the Internet Outage Detection and Analysis project, and the Open Observatory of Network Interference. They documented disruptions consistent with targeted throttling and content filtering.
Concerns about the government’s potential for shutting down the internet or hindering access were raised during the Gen Z protests in 2024 when down time and throttling were widely experienced.
There was a reported blocking of Telegram at the time besides slowdowns.
Similar interference was reported during the 2024 KCSE exams, supposedly to curb exam cheating.
The conservatory order and the suit coincide with the start of public debate about the 2025 Finance Bill, with some pockets of the population objecting to public spending proposals, resistance that could eventually result in protests.
The petitioners argued the internet disruptions violated several constitutional rights, including those of freedom of expression (Article 33), media freedom (Article 34), and the right to access information (Article 35).
They also cited the broader impact on economic and social rights, given Kenya’s increasingly digital economy.
“These are blatant violations of the constitution,” ICJ executive director said Eric Mukoya.
“We are seeing a disturbing trend whereby internet shutdowns are used to silence dissent, manipulate public discourse and restrict access to critical information,” he said.
The organisations said such muzzling also violates Kenya’s international legal obligations under the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Both of them protect digital access as an extension of civil freedoms.
“The internet is no longer a luxury,” Mukoya said.
“It is a critical enabler of political discourse, economic transactions and even emergency response systems. Any restrictions must meet the standards of legality, necessity and proportionality, as outlined in Article 24 of our constitution — standards that have been systematically ignored,” he said.
Kennedy Kachwanya, chairman of the bloggers’ association, said the outcome of the case will have far-reaching implications for millions of Kenyans who rely on unimpeded connectivity for livelihoods, education, and civic engagement.
“We call upon civil society, media partners, and the international community to amplify this fight for digital rights,” he said.
They said such safeguards are critical in preventing the misuse of state power and ensuring the internet remains open and accessible to all citizens, especially during times of political or social tension.
