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  HomeCollaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa (CIPESA)  /  kenya
20Nov

New Law Holds Promise for Improved Data Governance in Kenya

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By CIPESA Writer |

Following a seven-year, windy journey, on November 8, 2019, Kenya got a data protection law. The Data Protection Act, 2019 has various positive elements and can go a long way in addressing the live issues in protecting the privacy of data in Kenya.

The law came at a time of widespread concern about privacy in the country, including the fragmented oversight over privacy and data protection; increased mass data collection programmes by the government; enhanced state surveillance capacity; rampant privacy breaches including by business entities; limited dispute resolution mechanisms and the deficiency of remedies in case of breach of privacy.

The new law provides a comprehensive framework to regulate the processing of personal data and the protection of individuals’ privacy. It consolidates the law on privacy in the country and articulates several principles of personal data protection, as the minimum standard which all data controllers or processors must abide by.

Further, the Act provides for autonomy of the data subject over their data. It defines what constitutes consent, and makes the requirement of consent mandatory. This potentially addresses situations where personal data is collected arbitrarily and without the explicit consent of users. The law also prohibits the use of personal data for commercial purposes without the consent of the data subject. It places the burden of proof for establishing a data subject’s consent on the data controller or processor, while allowing the subject to withdraw consent at any time.

Also key is that the Data Protection Act, 2019 amends other legislation that have an impact on privacy, meaning that institutions responsible for handling the registration of individuals at birth and death, issuance of national identity cards and passports, Huduma Namba registration, registration of students at all levels, and the registration of telecommunication services consumers, will need to review their current policies, practices and procedures to ensure compliance with the principles in the Act.

The law establishes an independent office of the Data Protection Commissioner. Hitherto, the lack of an oversight body and the fragmented oversight over privacy in the country meant that every institution collecting personal data “owned” and used such data as they wished.

However, whereas the Act hold much promise for improved personal data governance in Kenya, state agencies, including the communications regulator, as well private actors and civil society all have a role to play in its implementation.

This brief recounts Kenya’s journey and efforts to develop a data protection law. It also provides an overview of the implication of the new law to the protection of privacy and data rights in the East African country.

11Sep

Placing ICT Access for Persons with Disabilities at the Centre of Internet Rights Debate in Kenya

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By CIPESA Writer |
Persons with disabilities have unique needs and have for long been disadvantaged, yet, the more some African countries get digitally connected, the deeper the digital divide for this community seems to grow. Indeed, debates about internet governance and the inclusiveness of the information society have not prominently featured the needs of persons with disabilities. This, despite Information and Communications Technology (ICT) having the potential to improve the lives of persons with disabilities.
However, it was a different story in Kenya a month ago, with disability rights featuring prominently at the Kenya Internet Governance (KIGF) and being the focus of a multi-stakeholder workshop held the day before the forum.
“ICT for us is an enabler; for a person with disability, ICT makes the world go round,” remarked Erick Ngondi of the United Disabled Persons of Kenya (UDPK), at the end of a workshop organised by the Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa (CIPESA) alongside the Kenya Internet Governance Week that is spearheaded by the Kenya ICT Action Network, or KICTANet. “For me this has been one of the first meetings as relates to ICT and disability, so this is an excellent move.”
The workshop brought together 28 participants who included representatives of disabled persons’ organisations, government departments, telecom companies, academic institutions, technology companies, civil society organisations, and the media. The workshop explored ICT inclusion obligations for the state and for private companies and discussed what Kenya needs to do so as to improve access and usage of ICT for persons with disabilities. (Watch video with highlights from the meeting.)

“This workshop is one of its kind because it is not only about issues of physical accessibility but also informational and technological accessibility for persons with disabilities. This is a good initiative by CIPESA and I want to applaud them for this. It is a journey that has started and I look forward to us going on with this journey until we achieve our goal of persons with disabilities being included in technology.” George Shimanyula, Cheshire Disability Services Kenya.

In addition, the workshop disseminated a draft tool for monitoring compliance and implementation of ICT and disability rights obligations, including those specified by national laws and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons With Disabilities (CRPD). The aim was to receive feedback on the tool, and to create awareness of how state and non-state actors can assess the compliance of government departments and private entities with digital accessibility obligations.
Kenya’s constitution is strong on disability rights, outlawing discrimination on the grounds of disability in article 27(4); and providing that a person with disability shall be entitled to treatment with respect and dignity, access educational institutions and facilities, have reasonable access to all places, public transport and information, and access materials and devices including for communications (article 54). Moreover, Kenya’s National ICT Policy of 2016 outlines, under article 13, strategies for “an accessible ICT environment in the country in order to enable persons with disabilities to take full advantage of ICTs.”
https://twitter.com/BakeKenya/status/1156905814122217487
However, as was noted by Judy Okite, founder of the Association for Accessibility and Equality, many of the digital accessibility strategies outlined in the 2016 policy remained unfulfilled. While Kenya’s government is making significant steps to move its services online, the platforms are not favorable to those who are visually imparied. “Are we widening the digital divide by moving our services online? Is ICT recognised as an enabler for PWD in Kenya?” wondered Okite.

Unfulfilled: Digital accessibility strategies outlined in the Kenya National ICT Policy 2016
The Government will where appropriate take measures to:
(a) ensure that ICT services and emergency communications made available to the public are provided in alternative accessible formats for persons with disabilities (PWD);
(b) review existing legislation and regulations to promote ICT accessibility for PWDs in consultation with organisations representing PWDs among others;
(c) promote design, production and distribution of accessible ICT at an early stage;
(d) ensure that persons with disabilities can exercise the right to access to information, freedom of expression and opinion;
(e) require both public and private entities that render services to the public to provide information and services in accessible and usable formats for persons with disabilities;
(f) Require content producers for distribution and public consumption in Kenya to produce such content in accessible format such as audio description, audio subtitles, captions and signing for access to persons with disabilities.
(g) ensure that websites of government departments and agencies comply with international web accessibility standards and are accessible for persons with disabilities
(h) provide incentives to providers of accessible technology solutions including software, hardware and applications
(i) take such measures that will lessen the burden of acquisition of accessible technologies and associated gadgets by PWDs through fiscal means such as tax exemptions, subsidization, funding acquisitions, etc.
(j) ensuring that licensed ICT service providers offer special tariff plans or discounted rates for persons with disabilities communicate with the rest of society.
(k) Ensure that licensed providers of telecommunications services make available services and supporting technologies for persons with disabilities including emergency services, accessible public phones and relay services to enable persons with speech, hearing and seeing disabilities

Similar sentiments were shared by lawyer and digital rights activist Angela Minayo, who said the workshop “was very productive” and had enabled participants to realise that there is a gap in the implementation of ICT policy and in awareness of how national policies and international legal frameworks provide for persons with disabilities to be able to access and use ICT.
Conversations from the workshop were carried forward to the KIGF, with a session on inclusion, where Okite joined Paul Kiage (Communications Authority), Nivi Sharma (BRCK), Ben Roberts (Liquid Telecom), Josephine Miliza (KICTANet) and Alfred Mugambi (Safaricom) on a panel.
Kiage, an assistant director in charge of the Universal Service Fund (USF), said the fund had collected KShs 9 billion (USD 86.6 million), mostly used to extend network coverage to areas without voice services and to offer broadband connection to 896 secondary schools across the 47 counties. He said they had installed JAWS software and other assistive devices in eight learning institutions, partnered with the National Council for Persons with Disabilities to create a portal to enable persons with disabilities to access information including job advertisements, and created platforms in some libraries to enable accessibility to digital content.
But, according to Okite, despite USF’s efforts, “the digital divide is growing bigger for persons with disabilities”. Research she was part of last year showed that computers in some of the learning institutions had not been replaced for several years, requisite software was not installed or out of date, and staff managing the labs were not trained to teach users. Sustainability of the initiative was thus in question.
Kiage’s response? “We could do a lot more because we know there’s even primary schools that are catering for persons with disabilities in Kenya so we could go lower and support such schools.”
As of March 2019, Kenya had a mobile penetration of 106%, or 51 million subscriptions, while internet subscriptions stood at 46.8 million, of which 46.7% were on broadband. But as the KIGF panel on inclusion heard, segments of Kenyans can not afford to use ICT, and those in rural areas, poor and uneducated women, and many persons with disabilities were cited.
Dr. Wairagala Wakabi of CIPESA asked the Kenya government to conduct a gap analysis to establish the unmet ICT needs of persons with disabilities, collect on a regular basis disaggregated data that shows how persons with different types of disabilities are using technology and the challenges hindering greater use, and invest a larger portion of universal service funds in promoting digital accessibility. He added that Kenya should grow awareness about assistive technologies and make these technologies affordable.
“We should leave no one behind when it comes to digital inclusion,” he said. “Clearly, the Communications Authority can do more to improve access for people with disabilities, including through the use of the Universal Service Fund,” he said.
The private sector needs to be compliant too, and to be held to account to fulfil its obligations. In Kenya, and indeed across Africa, Safaricom has been a pace-setter. Last November, it launched the DOT Braille Watch service to enable the use of its M-Pesa mobile money service by persons with disabilities, said Karimi Ruria, Public Policy Manager at the provider. In December 2017, Safaricom introduced the Interactive Voice Response (IVR) that enables visually impaired and blind customers to control their M-Pesa transactions.

20Nov

Call for Evaluation Consultant: ICT4Democracy in East Africa Network

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The Collaboration on International ICT Policy in East and Southern Africa (CIPESA) is seeking an evaluation consultant to establish the achievements, outcome and challenges registered by the ICT4Democracy in East Africa Network during the period June 2016 to December 2018. The evaluation will assess the appropriateness, effectiveness and outcomes of the network in relation to the program objectives
Closing date for applications: 17:00 hours East African Time (EAT) on Friday December 7, 2018
Further details on the scope, eligibility and how to apply are available here.

30May

Sections of Kenya’s Computer Misuse and Cybercrimes Act, 2018 Temporarily Suspended

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By Juliet Nanfuka |
Barely two weeks after the presidential assent to the Computer Misuse and Cybercrimes Act, 2018, a High Court judge has issued a conservatory order suspending the entry into force of 26 sections of Kenya’s contentious Computer Misuse and Cybercrimes Act, 2018. The order by Judge Chacha Mwita, suspending the sections until July 18, follows a petition filed by the Bloggers Association of Kenya (BAKE), which challenged the law for contravening constitutional provisions on freedom of opinion, freedom of expression, freedom of the media, freedom and security of the person, right to privacy, right to property and the right to a fair hearing.
In the order issued on May 29, the judge certified BAKE’s petition as urgent, and stated that  respondents (who include the Attorney General, the Speaker of the National Assembly, the head of the National Police Service, and the Director of Public Prosecutions) be served immediately. The respondents would have seven days from receipt to file written submissions. Hearing of the petition is scheduled for July 18, 2018.
Although the conservatory order only stalls the enforcement and could be lifted or maintained thereafter, it nonetheless represents a win for digital rights advocates in Kenya, as they have in the interim satisfied the judge that there is an arguable case to be made against the constitutionality of the recently enacted law. The order also marks another landmark ruling in the litigation towards respect and realisation of digital rights across Africa.

According to the  order, the suspended sections are: 5, 16, 17, 22, 23, 24, 27, 28, 29, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52 & 53.


Various organisations criticised the bill prior to its assent on May 16, 2018 calling it unconstitutional. Among the organisations were the Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANET), Article 19 Eastern Africa, BAKE and the Centre to Protect Journalists (CPJ) who deemed numerous sections unconstitutional and detrimental to Kenyan citizens’ digital rights. They said it infringed on the privacy of individuals, freedom of expression, speech, opinion and access to information online.
Kenya already has a history of stifling online critics of the state and state actors, as echoed by James Wamathai, the Director of Partnerships at BAKE. In a statement, he said: “In the past several years, there have been attempts by the government to clamp down on the freedom of expression online. This Act is a testament of these efforts, especially after other sections were declared unconstitutional by the courts.
Among the prevailing concerns on the law is the use of vague language on issues such as “false” or “fictitious” content and false publications in Section 22 and 23, accompanied with heavy obligations on users to verify truthfulness or untruthfulness of information before disseminating. As per section 12, failure to comply would result in a fine of five million Kenyan shilling (USD 50,000), up to two years in prison, or both.
The  court order comes on the heels of the two judgments (Okiya Omtatah Okoiti v The Communication Authority of Kenya and 3 others Constitutional Petition No. 53 of 2017 and Kenya Human Rights Commission v Communications Authority of Kenya and 3 others no. 86 of 2017) by the Kenya High Court in which the petitioners successfully challenged the installation on mobile phone networks of a communication surveillance system dubbed Device Management System (DMS), by the Communications Authority (CA) Kenya (CA). The petitioners argued that, through this system, the authority would have undue access to the communications of citizens.
As more countries in Sub-Saharan Africa develop technology related laws, it is fundamental that the laws uphold human rights standards prescribed at global and regional levels, including in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights (ACHPR), and African Union Convention on Cybersecurity and Personal Data Protection. However, recent developments such as has been witnessed in East Africa appear to prioritise the criminalisation and penalisation of internet use rather than encourage its adoption as a tool for greater access to information, and for expanding free expression and civic engagement.
Kenya’s neighbours Tanzania and Uganda have this year taken actions detrimental to digital rights. In Uganda, social media taxes that could be introduced in July 2018 threaten internet access and affordability while in in Tanzania, online content producers will have to pay over USD 900 to register with the state for permissions to maintain their platforms, according to new regulations.
 

25Jul

Promoting Youth Participation in Governance Through ICT in Kenya

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By Tracy Kadesa |
Youths have emerged at the forefront of online activism and citizen journalism in Kenya. During a December 2016 to March 2017 strike by doctors, young doctors shared their grievances online, ranging from lack of resources in government hospitals to inadequate staffing and poor compensation. One of the stories was that of Dr. Ouma Oluga, the secretary general of the Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union, who shared how he had to perform a caesarean section using a torch on his mobile phone due to a power outage. He was only 27 at the time.
Ahead of Kenya’s elections scheduled for August 2017, there have been increased calls for young Kenyans to participate in related processes and vote as a means of positively influencing concerns such as the high rates of unemployment. According to a 2016 World Bank report, Kenya has among the highest youth unemployment rates in Africa.
Against this background, on May 9-10, 2017, the Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa (CIPESA) convened 30 youth and civil society activists to explore rights and responsibilities, as well as effective and secure ways to engage in the country’s governance processes including through ICT.
The workshop raised awareness about various ICT-based initiatives that have given Kenyan youths an opportunity to regularly discuss issues and analyse the manifestos of candidates running for elective posts. For instance, SiasaPlace runs weekly Twitter chats using #SiasaWednesday with the aim of amplifying women and youth voices. Siasa Place is a hub and co-working space that is passionate about engaging youth and women on civic agency.
Tribeless Youth is another vibrant movement that uses Twitter to engage youth in governance. Ongoing discussions facilitated by #TribelessYouth include #MeetTheNewCandidates where first-time political candidates, mostly youthful ones, are given an opportunity to present what they plan to deliver if elected come August.
Other youth-led initiatives that participated in the workshop included Fatuma’s Voice, a youth empowerment organisation, and Centre for Public Engagement & Social Economic Affairs Kenya (CPESEAK), which works on promoting youth participation in social accountability. Irungu Houghton of Society for International Development; Kenya Dialogues Project (KDP) participated as guest speaker and highlighted KDP’s commitment to advancing youth leadership in Kenya.
The workshop also explored government efforts to motivate the youth to participate in the August 2017 general elections through an initiative dubbed Y-VOTE (Youth Vote). The initiative spearheaded by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) in partnership with the International Foundation for Electoral systems (IFES) leverages social media and on-ground activations to mobilise 18-29 year olds to vote come August 8. The campaign was launched on June 20, 2017 and run to late July.
Participants in the workshop explored ways of leveraging the various civic agency and elections-related initiatives to exercise their rights but also champion a peaceful electioneering period through online activism. Furthermore, discussions entailed digital safety tools and practices to facilitate secure communications.
The participants agreed that they were “no longer leaders of tomorrow but of today” and it was therefore their duty to zealously participate in governance processes towards improved livelihoods. See more insights in video below.

The youth in governance in Kenya workshop was organised in the context of the ICT4Democracy in East Africa initiative which is aimed at leveraging ICT to promote civic participation, democratic governance and respect for human rights.

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