The Committee on Appointments of the National Assembly has approved Mutahi Kagwe, William Kabogo, and Lee Kinyanjui for their respective appointments as Cabinet Secretaries for Agriculture, ICT, and Trade. Kabogo, the former Kiambu Governor, is now the third Minister of Information, Communication, and the Digital Economy under William Ruto.
Kabogo appeared before the Committee on Appointments of the National Assembly, chaired by Speaker Moses Wetang’ula, for approval hearings. At his confirmation hearing, the incoming ICT minister pledged to prioritize online engagement with Kenyan youth, focusing on promoting responsible social media and Artificial Intelligence (AI) usage.
Many Kenyan leaders have come out publicly sabre rattling and threatening to act against social media users who are using AI to vent their frustrations with the government. The ICT CS suggested the possibility of banning individuals who misuse and exploit social media by spreading hate speech and engaging in other harmful online behaviors.
“My first directive to the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) is to be able to know how this can be regulated. We have technical people who have experience with how these things can be done. I should be able to sit with them on my first day or second day in the office to make sure that there is a direct or clear way to deal with this problem,” he stated.
Kabogo also recognized that the government needs to strike the right balance when regulating social media.
“Cognizant of the fact that there is freedom of expression in Kenya, and we have to strike a balance so that the freedom of one is not used to infringe on the freedom of others,” Kabogo added.
Read: Protest 2.0: How Gen Z Is Fighting Controversial Finance Bill With the Power of Tech
Since the protests led by youths in June of 2024, the government of William Ruto has blamed all its woes on social media. Soon after Kenyan youths stormed parliament to protest a punitive Finance Bill, the then Cabinet Secretary for Defence, Mr. Aden Duale, gazetted the deployment terms for the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF). In the gazette notice, Duale stated that KDF was needed to deal with security threats from “cyberspace.”
“Based on the prevailing threats to national security planned and orchestrated through various platforms in cyberspace, the deployment will cover the forty-seven counties within the Republic of Kenya,” read part of the Gazette.
On January 11 this year, Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen delivered a warning to individuals he claims are misusing social media platforms.
“We will not tolerate this any longer. The country must operate under law and order,” he stated.
Kabogo’s Net Worth and Controversial Past
William Kabogo comes to this crucial docket with no known experience. He does, however, claim his time as Kiambu governor was marked with sound ICT policies that had positive impacts. What he does have is a huge bank balance and deep pockets.
At the committee hearing, he revealed that his net worth is about Ksh 3.01 billion. He said his wealth is distributed across real estate, company shareholding, land, and other personal assets.
“In residential houses, my total net worth is Ksh.700 million, movable assets of about Ksh.40 million, land and farm about Ksh.756 million, cash and current assets of about Ksh.64 million, interest and shares in companies approximately Ksh.1.5 billion. A total of about Ksh. 3.01 billion.
Another thing he does have is allegations of a checkered past. In December 2010, then-Internal Security Minister George Saitoti named four MPs in Parliament as suspected drug traffickers.
These same names were also among those contained in a dossier from the American Embassy to the Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission at the time. Kabogo’s name was allegedly among those under police investigation for suspected involvement in the illicit drug trade.
Speaking on Tuesday, he touched on the allegations, saying, “This is a question I have dealt with my whole life since George Saitioti dropped names of suspected drug traffickers.”
Kabogo claimed that the report presented by the former Internal Security Minister was the result of poor investigative work. “I ask Kenyans to look at the dossier brought to the House; even if it were to be presented to Inspector Mwala (a local television series), it will not pass.”
Mercy Keino’s Death
The ICT CS has also been associated with the tragic death of university student Mercy Keino in June 2011, a matter he maintains his innocence in. In response to a question from Teso South MP Mary Emase regarding his alleged involvement in the incident, Kabogo insisted that he played no role in Keino’s death.
“It is alleged that I had invited people to a party, Mr. Speaker. That is not true. This was simply a case of being at the wrong place at the wrong time,” Kabogo said, referring to the incident that occurred in 2011 at a restaurant.
Mercy Keino’s death was investigated through an inquest conducted at the Milimani Magistrates Court. Kabogo, who was a Governor at the time, emphasized that he had voluntarily engaged in the legal process.
He highlighted that the court’s decision, which took about a year and a half to finalize, cleared him of any wrongdoing. The verdict concluded that Keino’s death was caused by a hit-and-run accident involving a truck, rather than the actions of anyone present at the restaurant.
Kabogo’s immediate future will be to deliver the Digital Superhighway the Kenya Kwanza administration has consistently promised. One thing he hopes to do is stay in office longer than his predecessor, Margaret Ndung’u. The former ICT Cabinet Secretary had enough of Ruto’s game of musical chairs and declined her nomination as Kenya’s ambassador to Ghana.
