Former Chief Justice Willy Mutunga has taken a swipe at Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen following his remarks on pushing for tighter social media regulations.
Mutunga accused the government of being a greater threat to the rule of law than online behaviour, urging the Cabinet Secretary to focus on constitutional principles and governance.
In a statement shared on his X account on Saturday, January 11, 2025, Mutunga called out the government’s failure to uphold the Constitution and warned of dire consequences if governance issues were not addressed.
He questioned whether Murkomen had recently reviewed the Constitution, highlighting the need for the government to respect legal frameworks.
“It’s your government that threatens the Rule of Law. When did you last peruse the Constitution? You should advise the President of the constitutional and political consequences of the breakdown of the economic, social, cultural, and political order,” Mutunga said.
Murkomen’s threats
Mutunga’s remarks came after Murkomen threatened legal action against individuals, particularly youths, who use social media to intimidate or bully others.
Speaking about the impact of online harassment, Murkomen painted a vivid picture of the harm caused by such behaviour.
“I want to ask this question to every parent, church leader, and politician who is defending this bad behaviour. If your child goes to school and another student puts a picture of his face in a coffin photo, don’t you think that is a threat? He is simply saying, ‘I will kill you.’”
He described such actions as a threat to the nation’s stability and urged stakeholders to support the government in restoring order.
“If we do not do that, we will not have a country. We want to bring order to our country,” the CS stated.
Murkomen also called on religious and political leaders to rally behind President William Ruto in ensuring discipline and decency in online spaces.
“We want the church and politicians to support our President in his effort to bring order to the country,” he added
Murkomen’s sentiments referred to a section of social media users who have in the recent past been sharing AI-generated images of senior government officials, including President Ruto, portrayed as deceased. Others even created satirical cartoons depicting politicians in various scenarios.
