Ichung'wah, Junet Urge DCI To Arrest Kenyans Cyberbullying Leaders
The two top lawmakers criticised recent trends of depicting public figures in a manner they claimed was derogatory
Viral Tea Ke Writer 
Both National Assembly Majority Leader Kimani Ichung'wah and his Minority counterpart Junet Mohammed on Friday, December 27 urged the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) to arrest Kenyans abusing online platforms in line with the provisions of the Computer Misuse and Cybercrimes Act 2018, coming in the wake of recent abductions in the country.
The two top lawmakers criticised recent trends of depicting public figures in a manner they claimed was derogatory, including creating doctored images of leaders in coffins and circulating them on social media platforms.
While speaking at a function condoling with the family of National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetangula following his mother’s passing in Mukhweya, Bungoma, the two leaders waded into the discourse that has gained momentum and called upon law enforcement bodies to do due diligence in light of the recent trend.
“The ongoing behaviour and trend by Kenyans to abuse people through the internet by posting images such as the ones we have been seeing lately is very depressing,” Junet stated.
Officers stand guard outside the DCI headquarters along Kiambu Road. /NATIONAL POLICE SERVICE
The two leaders went on to urge the police and other investigative bodies to go after such individuals who they argued are contravening the law put in place in 2018 to tackle cyber-bullying and cybercrime. Ichung'wah called on the DCI to make public the arrest of such individuals to serve as an example to everyone else.
“I want to challenge the DCI to arrest individuals who are violating the Computer Misuse and Cybercrimes Act and make it public that you have arrested them and taken them before courts of law so that it can be a deterrent to those who are misusing computers and artificial intelligence to insult and do very uncouth, uncivilised things,” Ichungwah stated.
“To the DCI, you must make use of the laws that we created and enacted in Parliament back in 2018. I know it had challenges in court back in 2019 but the same courts reaffirmed that law and all the provisions of that law, if the DCI are not aware and the police are not aware are fully in force,” he added.
Ichung'wah stressed the importance of implementing provisions of the controversial law, which was upheld by the courts in 2019 after initial challenges.
Individuals who have allegedly been abducted by individuals believed to be officers from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) are said to have shared Artificial Intelligence (AI) images seen to be in bad taste towards government leaders.
Bernard Kavuli, Peter Muteti, Billy Mwangi and Gideon Kibet aka Kibet Bull have over the past week been allegedly abducted for their actions online with many Kenyans reprimanding the State against ‘state-sponsored’ abductions adding that the enforced disappearances were against the law.
At the same time, Ichung'wah called on Kenyans to be respectful to politicians in the online arena and steer clear of spewing negative discourse on social media. “All they need to do is implement that law and end these shenanigans of people insulting each other left, right and centre with impunity and imagining nothing can happen to you,” he asserted.
“I want to urge Kenyans to respect the families and homes of the politicians who you are targeting online. The same level we expect as Kenyans, let us extend the same level of respect to our leaders,” the majority leader stated.
Additionally, he reprimanded individuals whom he accused of faking their abductions amongst them local politicians and urged the police to take note of such incidents.
"We have seen others alleging that they have been kidnapped and abducted. They should also be dealt with by the authorities. Report to police incidents of abduction so that action can be taken. These are crimes in the law of the land and should not be used for political expediency," Ichung'wah affirmed.
This comes as President Ruto committed to ending all abduction cases and scenarios, urging parents to monitor and protect their children in a bid to foster a culture of responsibility and discipline. The police and DCI have steered clear of any involvement in the recent abductions.
Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja addressing the media on July 23, 2024. /NATIONAL POLICE SERVICE
