Cybercrime law, a safeguard for family moral values-says Duale

The Cyber Crime Act is not a new law but an earlier piece of legislation passed seven years ago to protect Kenyans against harmful and criminal content on the internet.

Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale explained that the Computer Misuse and Cybercrimes (Amendment) Act, 2025, assented to by President William Ruto, aimed at strengthening the previous law, ensuring that Kenyans were protected against harmful content over the digital space.

Speaking during the commemoration event marking the 100 years of Jamia Mosque, on Thursday 29 October, the CS said a lot of misinformation was being spread regarding the law, which he maintained was enacted for the benefit of Kenyans.

“The amended section protects young people from accessing pornography. We have a responsibility to protect our children. A lot of people are committing suicide because of accessing some sites on the internet and social media. A lot of youth are engaged in drug abuse because of what they have seen on the internet,” he said

Duale expressed surprise that a judge ruled that the law was unconstitutional, yet another judge made a decision on the same matter years back that it fell within the framework of the law. “The law was first brought to Parliament when I was the Majority Leader, and after it was enacted, it was challenged, and the courts later pronounced that the clauses were constitutional,” he said.

The CS said many countries have enacted similar laws to protect their citizens from harmful content through the digital space, pointing out that it was a responsibility of the government to put in place intervention measures to safeguard public interest and moral order.

The High Court on October 22 suspended some of the provisions contained in the amendments that were signed into law on October 15, 2025 by President William Ruto.

The sponsor of the legislation, Wajir East MP Aden Daudi, maintained that the law came with good intentions and it was meant to curb and prevent the spread of harmful content in the digital space.

“The law is aimed at shutting down channels that promote violent extremism, exploit children online, encourage cultism, or facilitate any unlawful activity in the digital space,” he said.

He observed that the digital transformation has exposed society to emerging crimes such as cyber harassment, child pornography, terrorism, and misinformation, and there is a need to curb these vices over the digital space.

Among other things, the law targets the dissemination of inappropriate sexual content involving minors, online fraud such as SIM swap, terrorist propaganda, religious extremism, and cult-related content. Under the law, the government will be empowered to shut down websites or apps that share illegal content.