This archive report was first published on 5 November 2021.
On November 5, 2021, Kenya took a significant step towards combating cybercrime and social media abuse with the unveiling of the National Computer and Cybercrime Coordination Committee (NC4) Secretariat.
The NC4 Secretariat will be responsible for consolidating action on the detection, investigation, and prosecution of cybercrimes, with a focus on the misuse of social media, which Interior Cabinet Secretary Dr. Fred Matiang'i described as a major threat to national security and integration.
Dr. Matiang'i emphasized the need for a sustained crackdown on culprits, particularly in the run-up to the General Election, citing the misuse and abuse of social media as a major challenge.
"As we approach the general elections, our challenge number one is the misuse and abuse of social media," he said, adding that digital communication and transactions were a growing reality of the public and private sectors.
ICT CS Joe Mucheru noted that the new law was necessary to support the digital economy and called for its stringent application.
Interior Principal Secretary Dr. Karanja Kibicho, who chairs the NC4, said the unveiling of the Secretariat would deter rampant abuse and character assassinations on social media.
"The operationalisation of this Secretariat and the law will provide us as a country with a very good foundation to get recourse from those who are hiding behind the keyboard of their phones to commit crime," he said.
