Kindiki: 19 counties on the spot over violence against bloggers
Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki gestures as he addresses members of the Senate Security Committee at Parliament Buildings in Nairobi on March 1, 2023.
The Interior ministry has opened investigations into the leadership of 19 counties over harassment and use of violence against bloggers and political opponents in an attempt to silence them.
Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki said a special unit has been set up at the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) to deal with the rising cases.
The development comes hot on the heels of the mysterious death of a 32-year-old blogger, Duke Nyabaro, in Kisii County last month.
Mr Duke Nyabaro a political blogger who was found dead in Kitutu Chache South in Kisii County.
Nyabaro used to comment on political issues, especially those affecting Bonchari Constituency in the county.
Appearing before the Senate yesterday, Prof Kindiki acknowledged that there are people who may want to use security officials to try and suppress public opinions and harass their political opponents.
He said the ministry has received many complaints from across the country by bloggers and other people of being threatened for expressing views deemed to be offensive to those in power.
Consequently, the minister said, the special unit at the DCI will investigate such threats and monitor social media content that could be hateful or be used to incite violence.
He emphasised the government’s commitment to protecting the constitutionally guaranteed freedom of expression and ensuring that bloggers and other people who express themselves online are not harmed.
“We are aware of such cases and investigations are underway. As we speak, political leaders in 19 counties as well as social media influencers who have organised groups of people to harass, intimidate and incite violence against others on the internet are on our radar,” said Mr Kindiki.
“I want to assure the country that we will deal with those establishing criminal gangs or groups either to physically attack people or to bully them online for political or other reasons. We have to deal with the problem before it gets out of hand,” he added.
Prof Kindiki further revealed that the police are investigating groups of both physical and online gangs that are propagating violence in the name of freedom of expression.
“We will take action against all the perpetrators of such acts regardless of their political affiliations. The trend is a threat to national security,” he said.
He was responding to concerns from senators over the rising cases of such attacks in counties. The MPs also cited the gruesome murder of Meru political blogger Daniel Muthiani alias Sniper as another example.
The late political activist and blogger Daniel Muthiani aka Sniper.
Vihiga Senator Godfrey Osotsi noted that the murder of bloggers was becoming a cause for concern.
He asked Prof Kindiki to tell the House what his ministry was doing to curb such cases.
“Even as the minister handles this case of Meru, we would like to know what the ministry has done over numerous other cases involving bloggers, which have been reported in the past,” said Mr Osotsi.
Curtailing freedom of speech
“This is a country of free speech and we would like to have people expressing themselves in all manner of ways, but if we allow this trend to go on then we will be curtailing freedom of speech in this country,” the lawmaker added.
Isiolo Senator Fatuma Dullo accused security agencies of being used by those in power to silence political bloggers.
“There are counties where governors are recruiting young people [to harass and intimidate their opponents] and it is worrying. The government should find ways of stopping such arrangements,” she said.
In March this year, Peris Mugera, a social media political commentator in Tharaka Nithi County, was found dead on the Makutano-Sagana highway in Kirinyaga County after she had been reported missing on February 19 after leaving home to meet friends.
The late Peris Mugera, who was a blogger based in Chuka town, Tharaka-Nithi County.
In August 2023, Adam Kenneth Nthiga, a teacher at Muthambi Primary School, was abducted by two men and driven to an undisclosed location in Tharaka Nithi County.
He was undressed, beaten up, and injured in apparent retaliation for his posts and comments on the poor state of roads in Muthambi Ward on a Facebook group known as Marima Sweet Home, while Mr Augustus Mutuku, an economist-turned-political blogger in Kibwezi East Constituency, was murdered more than two years ago.
