For the first time in Kenya, a sitting President was forced to answer questions in real-time on X (formerly Twitter) last year following Gen Z-led protests. This was more than a validation of the power of the online space; it signalled the beginning of a new dawn where the fight for justice, demand for accountability and civic engagement have extended to the digital space.
Platforms like X, Facebook, TikTok and WhatsApp have evolved from their primary role of socialisation and entertainment to places where policies are debated, corruption exposed and public servants held to account. However, freedom of speech in these spaces is under threat.
We have witnessed journalists, bloggers and human rights defenders harassed, censored and surveilled. Now, more than ever, there is a need to protect the online spaces, as our democracy and liberties hinge on the freedom of speech in these spaces.
In 2024, CIVICUS (World Alliance for
Citizen Participation) Monitor downgraded Kenya’s civic space rating from
“obstructed” to “repressed”. This followed
the arrests, abductions and restrictions that marred the Gen Z protests – and
anyone viewed as a government critic. Just in July this year, vocal Kenyan
activist Mwabili Mwagodi disappeared in Tanzania, only to be found barely
conscious at the border of Kenya and Tanzania at the Coast.
The Gen Z protests in 2024 and 2025 revealed the vast potential of digital spaces for civic purposes. What began as hashtags became national headlines, and isolated voices airing grievances resulted in nationwide mobilisation. In the same light, the protests also exposed the blurred line between national security and human rights, much to the detriment of basic freedoms afforded offline.
Let us take surveillance as an example. Human rights defenders (HRDs) and civil society organisations have reported numerous instances of interceptions of phone calls, account hacking and coordinated “smear” campaigns. Adding salt to the wound are the legal uncertainties involved, with some legal provisions weaponised against them.
The Computer Misuse and Cybercrimes Act, 2018, for example, was meant to curb cybercrime, yet provisions that criminalise “false information” or content deemed to cause “panic” have been used to censor and intimidate civic and human rights actors who were simply exercising their freedoms.
This has been caused by the vague nature of these provisions, leaving a lot of room for skewed interpretation. These provisions need to be reviewed with a view to removing ambiguity and adding safeguards to protect the voices of patriotic Kenyans who remain vulnerable to attacks in their quest for dialogue and accountability.
The use of digital spaces for civic purposes is not limited to urban areas or national politics. In rural counties like Kwale, Kilifi, Kitui and Turkana, digital spaces are also challenging the status quo in local governance.
Turkana, for instance, where getting clean water has been a problem for decades, has embraced the online space for better service delivery. Advocacy groups use Facebook pages and WhatsApp forums to mobilise residents, share information of, say, a broken borehole, and generally put the county officials on their toes.
Moving around the country, I have observed that rural communities are increasingly using online forums to connect with leaders, demand accountability, lodge complaints, give suggestions and influence resource allocation.
The online spaces have afforded a nuanced mode of civic engagement and community participation that is faster and direct. Ordinary people, even in marginalised areas can now use their mobile phones to demand accountability for health, education and service delivery.
The ripple effect is massive, even accelerating our progress towards meeting the Sustainable Development Goals. For instance, through online advocacy, we have strengthened SDG 16 (peace, justice and strong institutions). We have advanced SDG 10 (reduce inequalities) by amplifying voices in marginalised and predominantly pastoralist communities that have historically been undermined in representation and resource allocation.
Beyond providing legal protections, we also need to invest in our civic and human rights actors, especially in marginalised areas. They need training on digital rights and digital space protection. Such training can make all the difference.
For example, Halima Raso, a human rights defender from Kwale, struggled with frequent cyber threats, harassment and lacked knowledge on how to protect herself. After a targeted training (conducted by the Kenya Alliance of Resident Associations), she not only fortified her security but also shared the knowledge by training 200 other human rights defenders in her community.
Similarly, many grassroots defenders
struggle with limited capacity in the very skills meant to protect them online.
These include documentation techniques, monitoring methods, information
management systems and secure technologies.
They also face the challenge of low digital literacy levels, amateur research skills and isolation from networks of like-minded communities. These are gaps that need to be addressed systematically and with urgency to strengthen the efforts of HRDs in marginalised communities, consequently meeting our national and global goals.
To secure digital civic spaces, all arms of government must work in tandem to ensure all freedoms and safeguards are enjoyed by all Kenyans. The Executive, for instance, must lead by example in affirming “digital rights”. There should be no arbitrary restrictions instituted for political control. Parliament must ensure that no laws created for noble purposes are misused against citizens. All vague clauses and provisions should be aligned with the bill of rights.
The Judiciary stands as the ultimate safeguard and the citizens’ last line of defence. Fortunately, our courts have been very instrumental in this by curtailing Executive overreach, ruling against unlawful surveillance and other arbitrary State actions targeting online activism.
The Judiciary can go further by setting strong precedents that affirm digital spaces as extensions of public civic space and interpreting cyber laws correctly to prevent abuse.
But ultimately, the progress of Kenya’s civic digital space depends on capacity building, literacy on digital civic spaces, stronger collaborations (CSOs, HRDs, leaders, law enforcement, resident associations) and policy reforms that align restrictive laws with guaranteed freedoms. With such reforms and investment, we can build inclusive and secure platforms that reflect our constitutional freedoms and protect the digital civic space.
The writer is the CEO of The Kenya Alliance of Resident Associations
