A section of ODM party members in Mombasa is calling for the urgent review and repeal of the Computer Misuse and Cybercrimes Act, 2018 (CMCA), claiming it has contributed to the harassment, arrests, and even killings of bloggers and youths.
Led by ODM stalwart Betty Sharon, the group linked the recent abductions and deaths of youths to the controversial law. She accused legislators of shedding crocodile tears after passing draconian laws.
The sentiments come on the backdrop of the mysterious death of a blogger and teacher, Albert Ojwang, in a Nairobi Police Station following his arrest in Homa Bay.
“When Parliamentarians want to pass an act that favours them, they pass without blinking an eye. Then they come back and shed crocodile tears when it turns the tables on us,” said the visibly agitated Sharon.
“We want this act to be reviewed; we are not going to sit and see our children die every day. Every day, our children are being killed, tortured by the police, and yet it is the same parliamentarians who passed the draconian law that promotes the acts of killing and kidnapping,” she added.
She argues that the act promotes mistreatment, as before its enactment, defamation was a civil case, but now it is a crime.
They now want the Ksh 100 million allocated to the Directorate of Criminal Investigation in the 2025/2026 budget for the purchase of spyware to be channeled to other sectors of the economy, as it will further interfere with freedom of expression and privacy.
On his part, Oginga Randiki argues that the act has opened the floodgates for the police to have the power to arrest youths and bloggers.
“It’s not fair for the MPs to purport to be crying with us, while at the same time it is the very same MPs who passed this draconian law. It has to be repealed,” stated Randiki.
Samson Okute, a Youth Leader, decried that they are tired of burying young people, and Albert Ojwang’s death should serve as a lesson to rogue policemen.
“We want the Deputy Inspector General of Police to step aside for justice to be served. We want fellow youth to get justice. He cannot force himself to be in office while he is the complainant in the case that led to the arrest of the youth,” said
Lenny Oguna wants the government to end abductions and Gender violence as promised, as many youths now live in fear of who will be killed or kidnapped next.
Raphael Wakaya emphasised that the act must be repealed; he thanked the media for being objective in their reports in the wake of Ojwang’s murder inside a police station.
Click Here For The Original Source.
