By Shitemi Khamadi |
Bloggers are poised to get legal knowledge on what laws can be used to charge them, thanks to a training hosted by the Bloggers Association of Kenya. The training to be held in Nairobi and Kisumu will see bloggers gain knowledge on what not to post, the rights of arrested persons and the legal framework governing the internet.
“We are heading into the elections yet many bloggers and Kenyans online do not know which sections of the law anyone can use to charge them. This training will improve their knowledge on this critical issue”, said James Wamathai, a Director at BAKE.
Also to learn will be digital security for the participants. Digital security is important because as Kenyans continue to create content online, some content can be sensitive to anger others who may come after them.
In addition, there is a possibility that the internet could be shut down during the August 8th elections hence the need to learn how to circumvent the possible shutdown and still access the internet.
In the last two years, several laws that have been used to harass, intimidate and threaten bloggers have been declared unconstitutional by the courts. The sections were found to be vague and not aligning to the Constitution.
However, other sections of the law like defamation still exist. Last month, blogger Cyprian Nyakundi was fined sh300, 000 for contempt of court over a defamation suit he is facing against Safaricom’s Bob Collymore and Michael Joseph.
Moreover, freedom of expression is not obsolete. There are limitations to what people can say freely.
The internet and the law training will be facilitated by an Advocate of the High Court Mr. Mugambi Laibuta.
The digital security training, in partnership with the International Research & Exchanges Board (IREX) will be facilitated by Ephraim Muchemi.
The day long training has been made possible by the support from the Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA) through the Collaboration on International ICT Policy in East and Southern Africa (CIPESA).
The Nairobi training will be held on 13 May 2017 (Details HERE) and the Kisumu training will be on 20th May 2017. Bloggers and social media users are encouraged to attend.
Source: iFreedoms Kenya, a program of the Bloggers Association of Kenya (BAKE)
