Sh5m is too little! Nyamu pushes for tougher penalties on AI abuse

Nominated Senator Karen Nyamu has called for stiffer penalties against companies misusing artificial intelligence, arguing that the proposed Sh5 million fine is too lenient to act as a real deterrent.

Speaking on Monday, Nyamu said the current proposal under the Artificial Intelligence Bill 2026 risks being ineffective, especially against large multinational firms with deep pockets.

“The AI practitioners sometimes are very big companies where five million is very little money,” she said, calling for a classification system that differentiates penalties between individuals and corporations.

The proposed law seeks to impose a Sh5 million fine or a two-year jail term on individuals and entities found guilty of using AI systems to generate or spread harmful content. However, Nyamu insists the penalties must reflect the scale and influence of offenders.

She warned that the risks of AI misuse go far beyond deepfakes and misinformation, cautioning that critical sectors could also be disrupted if safeguards are not strengthened.

“You could end up messing in other sectors that are not necessarily personal or political, and as we progress with the bill, we will have to classify this five million as a deterrent amount,” she said.

Nyamu specifically flagged the education sector as vulnerable, noting that unchecked AI use could interfere with learning systems and outcomes.

“I mean, AI has a bigger scope where you could end up messing up even the education system using AI,” she added.

The senator emphasized that the intent of the law is not to raise revenue but to prevent abuse by making penalties tough enough to discourage wrongdoing.

“It is supposed to make you think about the fine and make you not even think about doing it. We are not after the Sh5 million; we are after deterring people,” Nyamu said.

While acknowledging that individual offenders may be discouraged by the proposed fine, she maintained that global tech players would hardly feel its impact.

“If you look at five million as a big amount, and when we're talking about practitioners who are big multinationals, then five million is very little money,” she said.

Her remarks come amid growing calls for stronger regulation as artificial intelligence continues to evolve, with lawmakers, tech firms, and the government under pressure to strike a balance between innovation and accountability.