The High Court on Wednesday temporarily suspended the enforcement of the controversial Computer Misuse and Cybercrime (Amendment) Act, 2024.
The new law was assented to by President William Ruto on October 15, 2025.
Justice Lawrence Mugambi issued the orders pending the hearing and determination of a petition filed by gospel musician Reuben Kigame and the Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC), who argue that the law violates multiple constitutional rights, including freedom of expression, privacy, and digital anonymity.
The petitioners contend that the Act’s vague provisions criminalizing false, misleading, or “mischievous” information, mandatory government-verified social media accounts, and obligations on platforms to remove flagged content preemptively effectively grant the state excessive power to police online speech, threaten whistleblowers, journalists, and regime critics, and weaken protections under the Data Protection Act of 2019, while also challenging the legislative process as unconstitutional for bypassing Senate approval under Article 110.
The judge said the application and submissions to the application be physically served within three days, and a return of service be filed.
“Pending the hearing and determination of this application a conservatory order is hereby issued suspending the enforcement, implementation and operation of Section 27(1)(b), (c) and (2) of the Computer Misuse and Cybercrimes (Amendment) Act, 2025,” the order said.
