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More than 100 people were killed during the protests, rights groups say [File: AFP]
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Nairobi
A new report by Amnesty International has raised serious concerns about alleged state-sponsored digital intimidation campaigns targeting young Kenyans involved in recent anti-government protests.
According to the report, Kenyan authorities are accused of financing coordinated online networks to threaten, monitor, and discredit Gen Z activists who led mass demonstrations across the country in 2024 and 2025. The protests, largely mobilized through social media, were driven by widespread frustration over proposed tax measures, rising cases of femicide, and public-sector corruption.
While the Ministry of Interior has insisted that the government “does not sanction harassment or violence against any citizen,” Amnesty’s findings point to what it describes as a deliberate attempt to “silence and suppress” dissent.
The report highlights a pattern of digital intimidation, with young women and LGBT+ activists reportedly facing targeted misogynistic and homophobic attacks—including the circulation of AI-generated explicit images. Amnesty documented several testimonies from activists who said they received direct threats, some involving personal details of their families. One activist said they were forced to change their child’s school after receiving messages that included the child's name, age, and school bus number plate.
Amnesty further alleges that individuals were recruited and paid between 25,000 and 50,000 Kenyan shillings per day to proliferate pro-government narratives online, suppress protest-related hashtags on the platform X, and amplify disinformation aimed at undermining protest organisers.
The digital intimidation reportedly occurred alongside physical crackdowns on protests. Human rights groups estimate that more than 100 people died during two major waves of demonstrations in 2024 and 2025, with allegations of enforced disappearances, arbitrary arrests, and excessive use of force by security agencies. The government has acknowledged isolated cases of police overreach but has defended security operations in several instances.
Amnesty Secretary General Agnès Callamard said the findings illustrate “a widespread and coordinated effort to stifle legitimate activism,” adding that the evidence indicates the involvement of “state-sponsored trolls and organised networks designed to dominate Kenya’s digital space.”
The report also raises questions about potential state surveillance, including claims—dismissed by telecom operator Safaricom—that authorities used mobile phone data to track protest leaders.
