The IPI global network welcomes a landmark judgment by Kenya’s Court of Appeal this month, striking down sections of the Computer Misuse and Cybercrimes Act (CMCA) criminalising the spread of false news. IPI calls on Kenyan lawmakers to further amend the law’s provisions on cyber harassment and broad surveillance that – like the false news provisions – have been instrumentalised against independent journalism, free expression and privacy rights and bring them into alignment with international laws and standards.
The long-awaited judgment arose from a 2018 petition filed by the Bloggers Association of Kenya (BAKE) challenging the constitutionality of a total of 26 sections of the CMCA for infringing the rights to expression, media freedom, access to information and privacy, among others.
While the case was unsuccessful at the High Court, the Court of Appeal delivered a partial victory to the litigants, declaring unconstitutional sections 22 and 23 of the CMCA, which criminalise false news, on grounds of legal uncertainty and susceptibility to broad application. The court stated that the vague phrasing of the provisions risked criminalising satire, opinions and journalistic inaccuracies. The court, however, upheld provisions on cyber harassment and surveillance.
“The judgment is a major win for press freedom and the fight against overly broad cybercrime laws,” IPI Africa Senior Legal Advocacy Officer Dr Marystella Simiyu said. “It is important that the court in this case has recognised the danger of vague false news provisions, which can be instrumentalised to target journalistic reporting in the public interest. At the same time, we note that this ruling is only a partial victory, as the court overturned only some of the provisions challenged. We urge Kenyan lawmakers to take urgent action to bring the Computer Misuse and Cybercrimes Act in line with international standards and ensure that its provisions are fit for purpose and cannot be used to retaliate against protected expression.”
The CMCA’s false news provisions had previously been used to target journalists, bloggers, activists and government critics, which, according to rights groups, was creating an atmosphere of fear. Cases affecting journalists continued in recent times: On December 31, 2025, Alshifaa Media Group photojournalist and station manager Peter Mwita Maseke was charged with publishing false news and detained for one week while investigating criminal activities in Mombasa County. The case is ongoing. Following the Court of Appeal’s determination, authorities should withdraw all pending cases.
However, the false news provisions were far from the only parts of the law that have been instrumentalised. For instance, last September, Standard Group journalist Collins Kweyu was detained overnight on allegations of cyber harassment while investigating ethical misconduct by a judicial officer. The charges were later dropped. The Court of Appeal did not invalidate the law’s provisions on cyber harassment.
IPI has carried out robust monitoring and advocacy around the threat that overly broad cybercrime laws pose to press freedom, including in sub-Saharan Africa. Last May, IPI joined Article 19 Eastern Africa, the Association of Progressive Communications and Pollicy in submitting recommendations to the Kenyan government’s multi-year cybersecurity strategy, calling in particular for the revision of CMCA to guard against misuse and unchecked surveillance.