Kenya Warned Against Internet Shutdown as Protests Against Finance Bill Intensify

The government has been warned against shutting down social and mass media during the anti-Finance Bill 2024 protests by a number of national and international organizations.

The government has been called upon to respect the liberties provided by the Constitution of Kenya and the standard human rights laws all over the world.

The coalition of 27 international organizations and Kenyan associations of content creators, lawyers, medical officers and human rights defenders warned of disruptions on the internet and media throughout the week.

In a statement, they said: “Shutting down or throttling of the internet, shadow-banning hashtags, or a mass media ban on live reporting would be a gross violation of fundamental human rights.”

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They said that the internet and mass media play a massive role in exercising the public’s right to know, citizens’ freedoms of speech and expression, commerce and, most importantly, the digital economy, which contributes almost 10% of the GDP.

If the government seeks to censure and control the social and mass media during the protests, they have called on the social media companies to resist the measures and prevent the infringement on the constitutional and universally affirmed human rights.

“Censorship or restricting access to social and mass media will be unlawful and counterproductive at this time,” they commented.

Regarding the continuation of public protests, the Finance Bill 2024 remains the subject of ongoing controversies because of the proposed tax measures.

The protests, which have received the support of different people, are led by the young generation dubbed Generation Z and have expanded across the country and have resorted to violent protests that require the services of the police.

However, after the demonstration of citizens towards this bill, the government declared the withdrawal of some contentious provisions to the bill as per pressure from different stakeholders.