Aldai MP Maryanne Keitany has introduced a bill in Parliament that many Kenyans see as a dangerous move towards government control and online surveillance.
Her proposal to make it compulsory for everyone using social media to verify their accounts using their national ID might be framed as a way to fight crime, but in reality, it looks more like a plan to silence Kenyans and monitor their every move online.
At a time when people are struggling with the cost of living, job losses, and poor services across the country, Keitany’s biggest priority seems to be making sure the government knows exactly who is tweeting or posting what.
Front page of the Standard news paper describing what the Bill posed for Kenyans.
Instead of focusing on the problems facing the people of Aldai like poor roads, lack of clean water, and schools without enough teachers she is now pushing for a law that will expose ordinary Kenyans to government spying and possible harassment.
This bill is not about safety. It is about control. Forcing people to upload their ID documents to social media companies opens the door to serious privacy risks. How secure will this data be? What happens when hackers get access to those ID numbers? Or worse, when corrupt officials use the information to target political critics?
The truth is, Keitany is helping push a dangerous idea that gives too much power to the state and takes away the people’s freedom to speak without fear. Her excuse that fake accounts are used for bullying or hate speech is weak.
Kenya already has laws to deal with defamation, threats, or cybercrime. What she’s doing is going beyond that making it harder for people to speak out, especially about the failures of government.
Keitany also claims the bill will protect children and vulnerable users. But this is just sugarcoating a harmful law. Children are already protected by existing content moderation rules, and parents have the tools to manage their children’s online activity.
Aldai lawmaker Marianne Kitany/FILE
Instead of strengthening such solutions, she is choosing to target the entire population and push people into a corner where they must choose between staying silent or risking being tracked.
The worst part is that Keitany wants social media platforms to hand over people’s data to the government anytime it is
“needed for investigations.” This opens the door for abuse. Political opponents, activists, journalists, and even innocent citizens could find themselves watched or targeted just because they expressed their opinion.
Her actions show misplaced priorities and a clear betrayal of the very people she was elected to serve.
