The High Court has issued temporary orders barring government agencies and telecom providers from interfering with internet access, in advance of a landmark public interest case challenging the legality of recent digital disruptions.
The ruling delivered by Justice Bahati Mwamuye, restrains the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA), the Attorney General, the Cabinet Secretary for ICT, and two major telecom providers — Safaricom and Airtel Kenya — from implementing any shutdowns or restrictions until the case is heard and determined.The orders follow a constitutional petition filed by seven civil society organizations including the International Commission of Jurists – Kenya Section (ICJ Kenya), Bloggers Association of Kenya (BAKE), Paradigm Initiative (PIN), Kenya Union of Journalists (KUJ), and others.The petition challenges the unlawful interference with internet access on three occasions in 2023 and 2024, actions they argued impeded the freedoms of speech and expression.
“These unlawful internet shutdowns directly violate rights enshrined in the Kenyan Constitution, including freedom of expression (Article 33), media freedom (Article 34), access to information (Article 35), and economic and social rights (Article 43),” said Eric Mukoya, Executive Director of ICJ Kenya.
According to court documents, the disruptions included throttling of internet speeds and targeted blocking of platforms such as Telegram, particularly during the #RejectFinanceBill protests and the national secondary school examinations. Technical evidence supporting these claims was provided by global internet observatories including Cloudflare, IODA, and the Open Observatory of Network Interference (OONI).
In addition to seeking a declaration that such shutdowns are unconstitutional, the organizations are asking the court to establish enforceable safeguards for digital governance. These include judicial oversight, transparency requirements, and mechanisms for holding public and private actors accountable for digital rights violations.
“The outcome of this case will have far-reaching implications for millions of Kenyans who rely on unimpeded connectivity for livelihoods, education, and civic engagement. We call upon civil society, media partners, and the international community to amplify this crucial fight for digital rights as a cornerstone of Kenya’s democratic future,” said Kennedy Kachwanya, Chairperson of BAKE.
Kenya lost US$75 million and 511 hours in 2024, mainly during the Telegram outage in November, compared to US$27 million and 192 hours lost in 2023, according to a report by independent VPN review platform Top10VPN. The seven-hour throttle on internet speeds on 25th June cost the country US$4.08mn. This was in response to the Anti-Finance Bill protests.
Although the government and major ISPs denied this claim and instead blamed it on ‘outages in undersea cables’, netizens believed that such an action was taken to censor communication amidst suspected human rights violations by organs of state.