Information, Communication and Digital Economy Cabinet Secretary (CS) William Kabogo has warned Kenyans against the irresponsible use of social media.
Speaking on Monday, January 20, 2024, when he toured the Kenya Broadcasting Cooperation (KBC) two days after he officially assumed office, the former Kiambu governor said that the government has the capacity to switch off the people.
However, Kabogo noted that the government does not want to think about switching off Kenyans from social media.
“I am only saying simply, let us be responsible. We don’t want to think about switching off people because the capacity is there,” Kabogo said.
He went ahead to urge Kenyans to always consider engaging the government in a conversation instead of launching irresponsible attacks on social media.
Kabogo further warned that as much as there is freedom of expression, it should not interfere with other people’s freedoms.
Kabogo on gagging people
The businessman-cum politician also maintained that he would not gag people from saying what they want as long as they are responsible.
“I would want us to be responsible on social media. Instead of putting me in a coffin and displaying me out there, why don’t you just tell me what you want? Why can’t we have a conversation between yourselves and us? We also know that Kenya has freedom of expression but that freedom is limited to the extent it does not interfere with other people’s freedoms. As long as we understand that is the rule of the game, let us have fun,” Kabogo noted.
“I am not one who would want to gag people from saying what they would want to say, as long as what they are saying is responsible.”
Kabogo’s remarks come amid online criticisms of President William Ruto’s administration.
Sensitisation campaign
Speaking in Nairobi on Saturday, January 18, when he officially took over from Prime CS Musalia Mudavadi who had been serving as the Acting ICT CS since December 2024 following a cabinet reshuffle, Kabogo noted that his ministry would undertake a sensitisation campaign to raise awareness on data privacy protections, among other critical digital-space rights.
He gave an assurance that these efforts would not be undertaken with the aim of curtailing freedom of expression, emphasizing that the objective was to promote responsible and respectful online conduct.
“The minute you put someone in a coffin and depict someone in a coffin. It may be fun at your age of 20…what happens when you are 42 and your son is 19 or 20 and someone puts you or depicts you in a coffin. It will not be fun for your children….We should be able to talk to our children and to each other and understand that this field is good. Information is power but let us do things responsibly. We have laws that govern misuse and abuse of this platform,” he said.
