Salasya differs with Atwoli on calls to regulate social media
Mumias East Member of Parliament Peter Salasya has differed with the Central Organisation of Trade Unions (COTU) boss Francis Atwoli, who implored President William Ruto on Thursday, May 1, 2025, to regulate social media.
In a statement on Friday, May 2, 2025, Salasya indicated that Atwoli’s call to the president to regulate social media amounts to censorship and violates the constitution.
“Atwoli’s agenda of trying to push to regulate social media like China threatens our democracy! It violates Art 33 & 34 of our constitution, risks government abuse, & silences the youth (75% of us),” Salasya said.
“Social media fuels economy & accountability, for instance, if it were not social media #FinanceBill2024 ingepita. Use laws, not censorship!”
Atwoli calls for regulation
Speaking during the Labour Day celebrations at Uhuru Gardens in Nairobi, Atwoli urged Ruto to regulate social media, observing that it was the only way to silence the dissenting voices in the country.
The long-serving union leader expressed fears that without regulation, the country could head into civil strife, stating that all the biggest economies of the world had regulated their social media usage to be successful.
“We must regulate social media just like in China, with a population of 1.4 billion people, Dubai, the US and the UK. Kenya cannot be free for all. That is the patriotism I am talking about,” Atwoli noted.
On April 27, 2025, Atwoli equally expressed his concerns that social media was emboldening the youth to speak against things they had no knowledge about.
“There is this thing called social media, it is not in China, it is controlled. The Church must speak about social media, the church must speak about TikTok. We can’t have such a society. The young people on social media have never worked in trade unions. You will see how they talk and comment about the union, incitement on social media,” Atwoli said.
Nation’s stability
“Kenya is a satellite of economic activities in the region. On social media, you will need to shorten the propaganda, you must love this country. If you don’t love this country, employers will leave. If not, you will start fighting each other,” Atwoli observed.
While the Cabinet Secretary for ICT, William Kabogo, has in the past ruled out the possibility of switching off social media in the country, he urged for responsible usage of the platforms, stating that misinformation could easily destabilise the nation.
“We’ve seen how information can cause chaos, whether it’s credible or not. We can’t afford to have people doing things that destabilise the country because of misleading or harmful content,” Kabogo said on January 28, 2025.
