As Kenyans head to the polls ahead of the March General Elections, authorities have stated their intention to clamp down on social media haters.
Capital FM in Nairobi reports that authorities plan on closely monitoring social media to identify and take action against users who disseminate hate speech, propagate tribalism or use these resources to incite others.
The report quotes Information and Communication Permanent Secretary Bitange Ndemo as saying “the use of abusive, insulting or threatening words is an offence and anyone culpable is liable to a fine not exceeding Sh1 million or a prison term of three years or both.”
“I saw a very bad tweet yesterday. There is a process called triangulation and it is actually very easy to know who is doing it. Most people probably are doing thinking it is not easy knowing who they are,” writes Capital FM.
“We however have the capacity to do triangulation and very easily get to the person and that is what we are going to do with the names that we have,” Ndemo is reported to have said.
PS Ndemo said that it was good that awareness was being created and also emphasised efforts to address what he described as the SMS crisis in the country.
The voter register is due to be made public by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).
According to the report IEBC Commissioner Wangai Muthoni has advised registered voters to verify their details either by SMS or at polling centres.
Staff Writer
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