Lilian Ng’ang’a, who served as Machakos First Lady during her marriage to Alfred Mutua, has called on Kenyans to adopt a respectful tone when critiquing the government.
Lilian, In a statement delivered on Wednesday, January 15, 2024, emphasized that there was a need for maintaining dignity and maturity, even when holding leaders accountable.
Lilian, urged Kenyans to reject urge to use vulgarity as a means of expressing dissatisfaction.
“There is a need for us to continue faulting the government for its failures and transgressions. However, using vulgar language and showing total disrespect is unacceptable. Pass your message across in a mature and respectable manner. Adding insults dilutes the purpose,” she advised.
Lilian’s comments come amidst outcry from a section of leaders following the surge in offensive and scathing criticisms of government leaders, particularly from Kenya’s youth.
Ministry of Interior and National Administration Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen, recently issued a stern warning to social media users in the country infringing on their right of expression by tarnishing the name of the Government and Posting inappropriate AI-Generated Pictures.
While distancing the Government from alleged abductions of Social media critics, Murkomen vowed to take legal action.
" The Government of Kenya is not in the Business of Abducting anybody, we are in the Business of arresting and Charging Criminals and we want to assure you we will follow the law but we will be very Tough, we will be very tough in following the law" Said Murkomen.
" As a Parent, how would you feel if another Kid created an image of your child in a coffin then sent to your Child? " Murkomen Quipped in reference to the recent trending social media images depicting leaders in Coffins.
Speaking on Friday, January 10, in Uasin Gishu County, where he had accompanied President William Ruto for a development tour of the region, Murkomen said social media should not be used to threaten others.
“I want to ask this question to every parent, and church leaders who are defending this bad behavior, and politicians who do not agree with us. If your child goes to school and another student puts a picture of his face in a coffin photo, don’t you think that is a threat? He is simply saying I will kill you,” he said.
The CS vowed that his ministry will charge all those who have been using social media to threaten others.
“If we do not do that, we will not have a country. We want to bring order to our country,” he said.
“We want the church and politicians to support our President in his effort to bring order to the country.”
Murkomen made the remarks as President William Ruto criticised Kenyans circulating the social media images, commenting on the viral posts for the First Time.
The Head of State accused certain politicians of funding young Kenyans to tarnish the reputation of government officials through such posts.
Ruto warned that such impunity had dire consequences, saying it fostered a culture of violence and the devaluation of human life.
National Assembly Majority Leader Kimani Ichung'wah on the other hand Cautioned Facilitators of such acts.
Ichung'wah, opined that there are leaders Paying Youths mere cash to insult the government on social media, stating that he will deal with them.
The Kikuyu Mp, threatened to initiate impeachment proceedings against the Tribal leaders fuelling division in the Country.
Ichung'wah, echoed sentiments he made in the wake of alleged abductions of social media activists last month.
Speaking on Friday, December 27, 2024, Ichung’wah stated that young Kenyans are acting in a uncivilized manner, misusing their Freedom of Expression.
The Kikuyu Member of Parliament, urged youths to desist from taking advantage of social media platforms and freedom of speech to insult leaders, urging them to practice restraint and respect.
“To the youth, have respect, even if you do not respect me as a leader and other leaders, then respect the families of those leaders, you might not like Speaker Moses Wetang’ula but remember he has a parent, he is also a father” Ichung’wah said.
Additionally, Ichungwah challenged security officers to make use of the law to apprehend cyberbullies and take them before the courts of law, in line with the provisions of the Computer Misuse and Cybercrimes Act 2018.
The majority leader noted that arresting those violating the Cybercrime Act would tame online bullies in the East African country.
“I want to challenge the DCI, kama kuna watu wamefanya makosa ya misuse of computers and cybercrimes, arrest them and make it public, and take them before courts of law so that it becomes a deterrent to those who insult and do very uncivilized things, AI not only to insult but also to do very uncivilized things." He said.
“Implement that law to end this shenanigans of people insulting each other with impunity and imagining nothing can happen to them, you must make use of the laws that we created and enacted in Parliament in 2018, especially the Computer Misuse and Cybercrime Act,” Ichung’wah added.
The majority leader also cautioned those faking their abduction as the new wave of missing persons in the country surges stating that they should also be arrested and charged for cybercrime, saying that some social media users want to use abduction to incite Kenyans.
“If anybody alleges to have been abducted and they are not, they should be arrested and charged for misuse of their computers and cybercrimes. There are characters who want to use this to incite the people of Kenya,” he added.
Security Agencies in the country have on several occasions denied involvement in the alleged abductions, despite numerous accusations from citizens.
Young Social Media Users who have been critical of the Kenya-Kwanza administration have been reported missing, since last year's June Finance Bill Protests with some resurfacing weeks after alleged abductions.
The East African Country continues to grapple with youth resistance as President Ruto contemplates steps to take to minimize the widespread opposition of his leadership and administration's initiatives.