The Government has announced the latest steps it’s taking to protect bloggers from both online threats and physical violence. While addressing the Senate Plenary yesterday, the Interior CS, Kithure Kindiki revealed the establishment of a special unit within the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) that would monitor threats targetting bloggers exercising their freedom through various digital platforms.
The World’s Press Freedom Day was celebrated just a few days ago. Kenya is currently ranked 102 out of 180 countries with a low score of 53.22. This was a slight improvement from the 51.15 score in 2023, however, press freedom is still under threat in the country.
The unfortunate, and needless, murders of Peris Mugera and Meru-based “Sniper” show how extreme the risks are for bloggers expressing different opinions, especially, political ones.
The Government has since condemned the murder of Peris Mugera whose body was discovered recently after being reported missing in February. Additionally, the CS further disclosed that several suspects have been arraigned in connection to Bernard Muthiani’s, alias “Sniper” gruesome murder last December.
“If you are intolerant to people who have divergent opinions, I think you have a very thin skin. We want to condemn people who think that the only way to silence people who have divergent opinions is by killing them,” the government’s spokesman, Isaac Mwaura said while addressing the press yesterday.
Now it seems the Government is working to ensure the protection of the 4th estate. Particularly, the new special unit will focus on gangs perpetrating online attacks and offline violence against citizens expressing divergent opinions online. The detectives are currently investigating several in 19 counties, per the CS.
