The Connected Africa Summit 2025 officially opened on Monday in Diani, bringing together over 1200 delegates from 24 countries in a powerful show of global commitment to advancing Africa’s digital transformation. The four-day summit, running until Thursday, has drawn top government officials, private sector leaders, innovators, and policymakers to explore the next frontier of the continent’s digital future.

The high-level gathering began with a strong emphasis on follow-through and implementation, particularly of the Nairobi Declaration, which emerged from last year’s summit. In his opening remarks, Stanley Kamanguya, CEO, ICT Authority of Kenya, underscored the significance of the summit’s return and the weight of the conversations ahead.

“This is the second time we are converging at a continental level. The Connected Africa Summit has kicked off in a big way,” said Kamanguya. “When you look at the attendance, it tells you that we are attracting a lot of attention from around the world. This year, we are following up on the Nairobi Declaration to assess progress, challenges, and opportunities for implementation.”

Key areas of focus during the summit include youth empowerment, given that 70 per cent of Africa’s population is under 30 years old, scaling local innovations, harmonizing ICT policies across African nations, and promoting digital inclusivity by addressing the internet access gap. Kamanguya highlighted that the summit is not only expected to produce actionable policy recommendations but also explore alternative financing strategies to drive digital infrastructure development across the continent.

On her part, Cynthia Kropac - Safaricom’s Chief Enterprise Business Officer, reiterated the company’s focus on delivering seamless, intelligent, and inclusive digital experiences for people across Africa,

“At Safaricom Business, we remain firmly committed to driving Africa’s digital future—through bold investments in connectivity, strategic partnerships, and the transformative power of artificial intelligence. By fostering innovation and enabling access to digital solutions, the Business continues to play a central role in unlocking socio-economic growth and empowering communities across the continent.”

Another key highlight of the opening day was a keynote presentation by Eng. John Tanui, CBS Principal Secretary, State Department for ICT and Digital Economy. His address, themed “Positioning Kenya as Africa’s Next Hub for Outsourcing IT-Enabled Services (ITES),” explored Kenya’s ambition to become a regional leader in digital services.

The first day also featured robust discussions on the future of work, artificial intelligence, the gig economy, 5G and connectivity, climate tech solutions, and the critical need for digital public infrastructure. These conversations are laying the groundwork for cross-sector collaborations that could redefine Africa’s digital agenda.

Beyond the plenary sessions, the summit is showcasing African innovation through an Innovation Village, where local startups and developers are displaying tech-driven solutions for real-world challenges. A Smart Government Zone is also featured, highlighting digital transformation projects from public sector institutions across Africa.

The summit is further amplifying inclusion efforts through a special Women in Tech session, aimed at empowering African women to actively participate and lead in the digital economy.

With more than 2,000 participants expected by the end of the week, the Connected Africa Summit 2025 is positioned to be a milestone event in the continent’s pursuit of a digitally inclusive, innovative, and interconnected future.

Nairobi is on Wednesday set to witness the first ever public drone light show powered by Jay Pyrotechnics.

The dazzling drone shows to light up Nairobi night sky will, according to organizers,bring residents and visitors a new experience, a combination of modernity, realistic art show and light show with laser mapping technology.

The first drone light show in the capital city will be a high impact artistic infusion of innovation and tradition in a digital age.

The groundbreaking event will be spearheaded by Jay Pyrotechnics, a leading brand in fireworks and visual experiences across the African continent.

A drone light show involves multiple aerial vehicles equipped with LED lights flying in synchronized formations to create patterns and images in the sky.

The company, a leader in drone light shows in the country, is working overdrive to deliver the first ever drone show in Kenya that will not only be visually satisfying but environmentally friendly.

Industry stakeholders contend that drone lights are the perfect substitutes for fireworks display as they are noiseless and less pollutant.

They are a more friendly and more interactive display without pollution with Jay Pyrotechnics promising a spectacle that will ‘illuminate the skyline and the hearts of the people’.

Jay Pyrotechnics Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Jayshree Suchak says Nairobi will be set blaze with light music and wonder and expressed optimism that city dwellers will embrace the show wholeheartedly.

The CEO says the nighttime display will take place during the inauguration of a newly completed green-certified tower along Mombasa Road where hundreds of drones fitted with lights will create moving formations in the sky.

The Purple Tower, a 14-storey building located along Mombasa Road will be unveiled on Wednesday with rare spectacle.

"We are set to execute a groundbreaking 300 drone light show for the official launch of Purple Dot Tower in Nairobi,” she said.

She added that it will be Nairobi’s first ever drone show of its kind marking a significant milestone in the city’s entertainment and even production landscape.

Jay Pyrotechnics, formed in 1993 is a globally-renowned creative events company in the field of fireworks, special effects and visual experience and has presence in Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Mauritius, Seychelles, Nigeria, Ghana and Egypt.

Suchak says drone light shows and aerial performances are redefining the future of entertainment on a large scale in Kenya and across Africa.

She says Nairobi’s inaugural 300-drone display promises to be a night of enchantment and splendor as her company showcases Kenya’s growing drone industry.

“We will illuminate Nairobi’s skyline with its first ever drone light show and it would be a memorable and experiential occasion,” said Suchak in an interview.

She went further ‘Kenyans will witness an unprecedented aerial spectacle as drones take to the sky’s’.

Suchak says the record setting show represents the future of live entertainment that combines technology, artistry and innovation in a way that has never been seen before in Kenya.

She said the company is leaving ‘no stone unturned’ to ensure an unforgettable experience and grand celebration with the main feature being a laser show and multimedia projections.

Suchak says drone light shows are becoming increasingly popular for events, festivals and celebrations.

She says the highlight will be a light show as 300 hundred drones take off in the night sky that promises a spectacle of dancing lights in the night sky, synchronized to music, leaving people in awe and wonder.

Drone light shows are a combination of drones programmed to fly in 3D space to make identifiable visual forms and create a stunning visual spectacle for events.

Suchak says the innovative aerial performance with the combination of movement and colour will redefine celebrations on the local scene seemingly blending artistry and cutting-edge technologies.

"We look forward to creating more awe-inspiring experiences in the near future, a paradigm shift in celebrations, as drone shows visually appeal to diverse audiences,” she said.

^{Two of Kenya’s top mixed martial arts  (MMA) athletes, Ouhsummer Ali Abad, known as “Ninja Turtle” and George “The Maverick” Itumo — have officially signed with AFRICAN KNOCKOUT (AKO).}

^{The duo will make their highly anticipated debut on June 13, 2025, at 6 PM at the Pistis Conference Center in Lagos, Nigeria.}

AKO, Africa’s leading mixed martial arts promotion co-owned by Nigerian UFC legend Kamaru Usman, stands as the continent’s premier MMA platform, captivating audiences across Africa and beyond.

The upcoming debut of Ouhsummer Ali Abad and George Itumo marks a major milestone for Kenyan and East African combat sports.

With all formalities now complete, both fighters are currently in intensive training camp in Nairobi, preparing for their highly anticipated AKO debut.

Ouhsummer Ali Abad says, “Signing with AKO is a great opportunity to show Africa and the world the level east african MMA reached in the past few years.”

George Itumo adds on their aspiration, “The plan is to dominate the African MMA scene before moving into the biggest world leagues like PFL and UFC.”

This highly anticipated event will showcase 18 fighters from across Africa, also representing countries such as Nigeria, Angola, Benin, Cameroon, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Togo and Egypt — all eager to assert their dominance in the competitive AKO arena.

"AKO9 is more than just an event; it's a bold declaration of the future of African MMA. With unparalleled energy, elite athletes, and top-tier production, we’re not merely putting on a show — we’re igniting a movement,” stated Rayan Fayad, COO of AKO.

Historically, no East African fighter has claimed victory inside the AKO cage — that narrative is about to change. George and Ouhsummer are not just entering the arena to compete; they are poised to make history, representing Kenya and East Africa with pride and aiming to dominate on one of the most prestigious platforms in African MMA.

Kenya’s martial arts scene has seen a remarkable rise in 2025, driven by a dedicated team of fighters from Nairobi Jiu-Jitsu Academy and One Tribe BJJ.

The team has delivered standout performances across Uganda, Egypt, and Qatar. At the AJP Tour Africa Continental Jiu-Jitsu Championship held in Cairo in February, Team Kenya emerged as the top-ranked African team, securing an impressive 13 medals — including six golds.

Leading the charge was Ouhsummer Ali Abad, who delivered a dominant performance with double gold.

He continued his winning streak at the AJP World Tour in Qatar in April, clinching back-to-back double victories.

These achievements have propelled him to #7 in the AJP global professional rankings — the highest ever for a Kenyan athlete in the sport.

Blankets & Wine, a production of GoodTimes Africa, has announced a spectacular artist lineup for their first edition of 2025, set to take place June 29th at Laureate Gardens, Moi International Sports Center.

The upcoming event, touted to be an unforgettable experience, will also be a celebration of the festival’s 16th anniversary of showcasing emerging and established artists from Kenya, across the continent and beyond. 

Blankets & Wine June edition will feature two stages that will present a diverse lineup of artists and African sounds. Get your tickets to B&W June Edition via Mookh 

Performers on the live main stage will include world acclaimed South African soulful house music icons Mi Casa best known for hit songs including “Jica” and “Tulale Fofofo” with Sauti Sol.

A Kenyan cocktail of stars will include Matata and Ssaru, who will deliver an infectious blend of Gengetone, Afrobeats and captivating choreography, Serro – the power vocalist who gives a contemporary twist of Kenyan Folk music, alongside rising stars: Shad Mziki who will deliver a soulful pop experience and We are Nubia, afropop R&B sweethearts.

Tanzanian living legend Saida Karoli will present a mix of Taarab and Bongo Flava rhythms infused with captivating traditional Tanzanian sounds while Uganda's coolest kid, Joshua Baraka, is expected to bring the show down with his beloved dancehall basement party.

On the Onja Onja Stage, fans should expect a captivating day into night of edgy, electronic African music including live performances by Akoth Jumadi & Mr Lu delivering a soulful blend of Afro-fusion and contemporary folk, a seamless blend of hip-hop, electronic, and Afro influences from Coco Kahi, infectious amapiano and afro house beats from DJ IV and Bune, an electrifying b3b set from Ghedi x Hiribae x Paps and a journey to alternative afro house music scene with DJ Ite.

Ahead of the anticipated event, Founder of Blankets & Wine, Muthoni Drummer Queen says, " Our focus is to curate an experience that truly delivers exceptional value for money with two stages presenting thrilling performances from 17 top notch African artists."

“This year, we are focusing on bringing Africa to Kenya. And taking Kenya to the world.”

Blankets and Wine curates a holistic festival experience that caters to every attendee, regardless of age.

The Family Zone at the festival offers a safe and engaging space for children with activities and minders, allowing parents to enjoy the event.

The renowned Onja Onja Market elevates the festival's cultural immersion, transforming it into a bustling marketplace where local artisans, vendors and culinary talents converge.

The market is a foodie paradise with tons of different eats and cool, handmade Kenyan goods and crafts.

Blankets & Wine will this year also be hosting its first-ever show in Bradford City, UK, on September 6th 2025 at Lister Park, marking a significant milestone in its 16-year journey in partnership with the British Council for the UK/Kenya Season 2025. 

Afropop superstar Tekno, popularly known by the moniker Alhaji Tekno, kicks off 2025 in blazing style with “Alhaji,” a high-energy love anthem that’s already causing a stir online.

Produced by rising talent Ranson Beatz, Alhaji finds Tekno in top form, delivering heartfelt lyrics about a woman who has him completely captivated and singing “she holds me for work”.

The track is a celebration of irresistible passion and connection, wrapped in the feel-good energy that has made Tekno one of Africa’s most beloved hitmakers.

The video reinforces the single’s high-energy, feel-good vibe. It’s a fast-paced visual that follows Tekno as he visits lively locations, dancing alongside a lively group of performers and sharing playful, romantic moments with his leading lady.

WATCH “ALHAJI” MUSIC VIDEOS

Even before its official release, a snippet of Alhaji has gone viral, racking up over 8,000 users on TikTok as fans across the world create videos, dances and moments inspired by the song’s infectious vibe.

With a career boasting global smashes like “Pana,” “Duro,” and “Skeletun,” multi-platinum certifications, international collaborations and writing credits for stars like Drake and Ciara, Tekno has consistently proven himself as a leader in Afrobeats and a driving force in pushing African music onto the global stage.

Alhaji marks his first release of 2025, setting the tone for a year full of music, surprises and big moments. 

^{It’s official -Let Him Cook is now live!}

^{Kenya’s celebrated artist and entrepreneur, King Kaka, in partnership with Bio Food Products Ltd, Highlands Drinks Ltd, and Ma Cuisine Ltd, brought together fans, friends, and industry partners for a vibrant evening at the “Let Him Cook” Red Carpet Watch Party held on Monday, 19th May 2025 at Replay NBO, Broadwalk Mall.}

^{This also marked the release of Episode 1 of the highly anticipated cooking show.}

^{The exclusive invite-only event kicked off with a red-carpet experience, where guests were welcomed with flashing lights, high fashion, and media interviews by top mainstream stations and digital content creators.}

^{The evening set the tone for an unforgettable night of entertainment, creativity, and celebration.}

^{Guests were treated to a live cooking show where King Kaka, known for his lyrical genius, stepped into an entirely new role-chef for the night.}

^{In a captivating mix of humor, storytelling, and skill, Kaka prepared a full meal live on stage, sharing a few laughs and taste tests with lucky audience members.}

^{The immersive show blended food, personality, and performance in a way only King Kaka could deliver.}

^{"This partnership with King Kaka speaks to more than just brand alignment — it’s about authenticity, purpose, and celebrating local excellence,” said Waithera Ng’ang’a, Group Director, Corporate Affairs.}

^{“King Kaka’s values, influence, and ability to connect with real people make him the perfect voice for a show that champions bold, honest conversations around food and identity.”}

^{In his closing remarks, King Kaka expressed heartfelt gratitude to his fans, celebrity friends, and partners who showed up in support of the new project.}

^{"This is a new side of me, and I’m humbled by the love. Thank you for believing in the vision,” he shared.}

^{Let Him Cook episodes will air every Monday at 8:00 PM on King Kaka’s official YouTube channel.}

By James Fisher, Chief Strategy Officer, Qlik^®

If you asked any CEO today what their organisation’s most important asset is, a common response would be their people, and rightly so. But if you asked them which is the asset that helped their company create an ‘unfair advantage’, you may get a different response.

Frans Feldberg, in a talk at Qlik’s AI Reality Tour event in Amsterdam recently, framed it like this. Uber is a car service company that doesn’t own any cars. Airbnb is a real estate rental company that doesn’t own any real estate. What is their most prized asset that has given them a unique advantage in the market? It’s data.

Indeed, Uber’s vast trove of real-time and historical transportation data enables dynamic pricing, efficient driver-rider matching and route optimisation. And Airbnb's extensive collection of user preferences, booking patterns and property information allows for personalised recommendations and pricing optimisation for hosts.

Companies that recognise the value in their data, and manage it effectively to unlock it, end up opening a treasure of new and unique opportunities for their business. I have worked in the data space for over two decades, and I have seen this play out time and time again. So, after exploring how companies can get the unfair advantage through a great tech ecosystem, and by building resiliency, I thought it was time to investigate what I think is another critical path to organisational success: unlocking your data’s hidden treasures.

Hidden Treasure #1: Unstructured data

Unstructured data – the information that is locked away in your text files, documents, emails, video files, images and so on - is arguably the biggest hidden data treasure.

It likely represents about 80 to 90 percent of an organisation’s information, growing at an exponential rate… and largely remaining untapped. A study that the firm ETR conducted for Qlik in April 2024 found that while companies understood the value potential of being able to deliver insights from that data, less than one third felt their organisation was well equipped to do so. So, for businesses that have been able to harness it, this creates a clear advantage.

This has been the case for Airbnb, which created a market edge with a great platform that connects a vast network of unique accommodations with travellers seeking personalised experiences, and which continues to show strong financial performance despite some signs of slowing growth and market normalisation.

The company effectively utilises unstructured data to enhance customer experience. It developed a system called the Listing Attribute Extraction Platform (LAEP) to gather important information about property listings from unstructured text data, like descriptions and reviews. Instead of relying on hosts to provide all details manually, LAEP automatically identifies key features of listings, such as amenities and facilities.

The system works by breaking down text to recognise specific phrases, matching them to standard categories in Airbnb’s database, and assessing how confidently it can identify these features. By analysing various sources of guest interactions, LAEP helps Airbnb better understand what makes each listing unique. This automated approach not only improves the accuracy of listing information but also enhances the overall experience for guests. It allows Airbnb to offer more personalised services and make informed decisions about how to present properties on their platform.

AI plot twist: Generative AI is providing organisations with new ways to harness unstructured data and generate insights from it without needing to build it all yourself. At the same time, your AI models need all the right contextual data – structured and unstructured - to generate content and provide answers that are relevant and accurate.

Bottom line: Whether it’s to make the most informed decisions for your business, enhance customer experience, or to ensure you create value with your AI projects, unstructured data is a hidden data treasure that is critical for you to unlock.

Hidden Treasure #2: Real-Time Data

It’s easy to see the market advantage real-time data can provide organisations when it allows them to make swift, informed decisions, respond instantly to market changes, optimise operations, manage risks more effectively or deliver personalised customer experiences.

But as I see it, real-time data remains a hidden treasure for many companies: it is there but is not yet being fully leveraged. There is a variety of reasons for this being the case, ranging from the technical complexity in implementing real-time systems, substantial costs associated with upgrading infrastructure and acquiring skilled personnel, and data governance issues related to ensuring quality and security in real-time environments.

Uber, the company that, to quote their mission, “reinvented the way the world moves for the better”, has distinguished itself through its ability to harness real-time data. The company's sophisticated Gairos platform processes and analyses enormous streams of instantaneous information from diverse sources, including rider requests, driver locations, traffic conditions, and weather patterns. This constant influx of data fuels critical functions such as dynamic pricing, which adjusts fares in real-time based on current supply and demand. Uber's advanced matching algorithms utilise up-to-the-second data to efficiently pair riders with nearby drivers, significantly reducing wait times.

The company also equips drivers with live heat maps displaying areas of high demand, enabling them to strategically position themselves for maximum efficiency. Finally, Uber's robust stream processing infrastructure handles petabytes of data daily, supporting real-time decision making across all aspects of the business, from customer experience to operational efficiency and market expansion strategies.

AI plot twist: Timely data is critical also for your AI projects. You may remember that early versions of ChatGPT could only retrieve information up to September 2021, which, needless to say, was a huge hinderance in helping ensure accuracy of the information it generated. Timely data requires the right technology solutions include change data capture to locate and record high-velocity database changes and instantly send those updates to a system or process downstream, stream data capture to capture data emitted at a high volume in a continuous, incremental manner with the goal of low-latency processing, and continuous data processing to instantaneously update downstream data stores (operational and analytical) for the latest data.

Bottom line: as timely data is one of the six data principles for AI-ready data, and it informs better decisions, it’s critical for your organisation to be able to harness it.

Hidden Treasure #3: External Data

External data, that information generated and collected from sources outside of a company's own operations, is another hidden treasure for many companies.

But while organisations have made progress in utilising their internal data, relatively few have fully leveraged the power of external data sources. Companies that successfully integrate a wide range of external data into their operations can get valuable insights that complement internal data and offer a broader perspective on markets, customers, and trends, and ultimately gain significant advantages in growth, productivity and risk management.

But leveraging external data presents several challenges, including navigating a fragmented and rapidly expanding data landscape, evaluating the quality and economic value of data products, updating existing data infrastructure, and addressing privacy concerns and consumer scrutiny.

Netflix's strategic use of external data has provided the company with a significant market advantage in the streaming industry. By leveraging a wide array of external sources, including box office information, critic reviews, social media trends and performance data from other platforms and networks, Netflix gains valuable insights into audience preferences and emerging trends. This external data informs critical decisions in content acquisition, production strategies and talent recruitment.

For instance, Netflix uses industry-wide performance metrics and cultural data to evaluate potential new content and understand regional preferences. In negotiations with top talent, the company can present comprehensive data on how a creator's work performs across various audience segments, demonstrating the potential reach and impact available through their platform. Additionally, Netflix utilises external technical data, such as internet speed information, to optimise streaming quality in different regions. This approach has enabled Netflix to make more informed decisions, attract high-profile creators and tailor its content and technical performance to diverse global audiences, ultimately strengthening its position as a leader in the competitive streaming market.

AI plot twist: While not every AI use case in your organisation will benefit from external data, there are many that will need it. Key applications include market intelligence for analysing trends and competitor activities, supply chain optimisation using factors like weather and traffic data, customer insights for personalised experiences, risk management and fraud detection leveraging public records and social media, and predictive maintenance through equipment data and historical records. However you decide to approach this, make sure you use external data in a way that is ethical and responsible.

Bottom line: Your organisation is impacted by external factors so you should always consider how the unique combination of your data with external data will give you an unfair advantage.

Bonus Hidden Treasure: Multi-Modal Data

What if you could leverage all of these types of data together to drive an outcome? That is effectively multi-modal data: as we saw, unstructured, real-time and external data each hold great value potential; but using them in combination acts as value multiplier.

Think of the value this can bring to a healthcare organisation that can leverage a patient's electronic health record, an X-ray image, a radiologist's description of an X-ray, and blood test results combined to improve patient diagnosis.

Mount Sinai Health System employs multimodal data to enhance patient diagnosis by integrating diverse sources such as electronic health records, medical imaging, genomic data and clinical notes. Through advanced AI and machine learning algorithms, the system analyses this comprehensive data to improve diagnostic accuracy and predict patient deterioration in real-time.

AI plot twist: Gartner predicts that by 2027, 40 percent of generative AI solutions will be multimodal, up from just one percent in 2023, highlighting the potential for these models to capture relationships across different data streams and support more complex human-AI interactions. This shift is expected to provide competitive advantages and accelerate time-to-market for enterprises.

Bottom line: Putting all the right data in your corner will help you unlock the most value.

Don’t Forget Your People

With all that said, I strongly believe that data alone is not enough to deliver magic for your organisation. To truly unlock its potential, you need the right people with dual data and AI literacy skills, possessing the ability to not only interpret and analyse data but also understand the capabilities and limitations of the AI systems that leverage it.

Ultimately, it's the synergy between data and people that creates the magic, enabling companies to pivot quickly, innovate effectively, and create their unfair advantage.

A new report on the State of Safety and Security of Bloggers in Kenya shows an increase in the number of deaths, abductions and arrests of bloggers and activists in Kenya in 2024.

The report titled Devolved Impunity: The Safety and Security of Bloggers in Kenya (2019 - 2024) has been produced by Paradigm Initiative, Bloggers Association of Kenya (BAKE) and Article 19 Eastern Africa. It has mapped violations between 2019 and 2024.

It states that the safety and security of bloggers in Kenya remain precarious, with the majority of the challenges arising from legal, political and technological threats. As much as legal platforms have expanded the space for free expression, bloggers face increasing risks, including harassment, surveillance, arbitrary arrests and cyber threats, the report adds.

Speaking during the launch of the report, ‘Gbenga Sesan, Executive Director of Paradigm Initiative pointed out that many governments are beginning to legalise illegal activities, with some of them investing in spyware to monitor journalists

“Mass surveillance should be illegal without legal frameworks to guide and make sure nothing goes wrong. But many governments are beginning to use existing laws around terrorism, and cybercrime, to then make legal what should not be legal and that is a challenge because what that does is that in many countries where some of your colleagues work we have had scenarios where governments have invested in spyware to monitor journalists and impede the work that they do,” he said.

On his part, James Wamathai, Partnerships and Advocacy Manager, Bloggers Association of Kenya (BAKE) said: “We are asking to be protected. The same human rights should be protected and preserved online. If one class of society is not safe, no one is safe. The safety and security of bloggers is something everyone should care about.”

Demas Kiprono, Deputy Director, International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), Kenya chapter, said the report showcases democratic space has moved online where Kenyans are engaging government and people in power online and this had come with inherent risks.

“This is a trend that has been happening and what we see is a need to safeguard the place, review laws, sensitize Kenyans on their rights. As civil society, we will continue to push for these reforms through litigation and advocacy to ensure democratic space is protected. There needs to be an understanding these rights enable a person to have their dignity. When you speak about what is happening to you and government progammes that don’t work, you should not be victimized, he added.

Angela Minayo, Programmes Officer, Article 19 Eastern Africa said the relevance of our work has never been more relevant than in the current Kenya. “We have seen a shift in the respect for human rights, and intolerance to criticisms and this has found its way to the county governments.”

“Computer Misuse and Cybercrime Act is the law of choice. We have problematic sections in that law. Beyond offences of the act, we should be concerned with the investigative process. Government agencies have so much investigative powers. We are also concerned about the composition of the NC4. The amendment bill seeks to empower NC4, giving them additional role to block websites found to be conducting illegal activities. Let us be on the lookout for the act and amendments to the Act. We are also asking the Court of Appeal to prioritise the case which is currently in court,” she said.

The report indicates that enforcing laws such as the Computer Misuse and Cybercrimes Act has raised concerns about the criminalisation of online speech, limiting press freedom and discouraging critical discourse. “The use of arrests, legal intimidation, digital surveillance and even enforced disappearances demonstrates a pattern of suppression targeting those who challenge authority,” it states.

This, the report further states, is despite constitutional guarantees of free expression and important court rulings that have struck down overly broad laws.  According to the report, bloggers, have continued to face arbitrary enforcement of the Computer Misuse and Cybercrimes Act, 2018, as well as other legal and extralegal threats. 

The report recommends collaboration between civil society, media organisations, and policymakers in fostering a safer online environment, adding that addressing these is essential for ensuring that Kenya upholds its commitment to freedom of expression and the protection of digital rights in the evolving online landscape.