The Government has come out to defend itself on the signing of eight bills last week by President William Ruto that have raised public uproar amongst Kenyans.
Government Spokesperson Dr. Isaac Mwaura on Thursday said the Presidential assent of the bills after their passage by the National Assembly was a pre-arranged and scheduled process to ensure compliance with strict constitutional, statutory and procedural timelines
Among the Acts is the Computer Misuse and Cyber-crimes Amendment Act which he defended as a move to strengthen mechanisms to combat emerging threats such as child pornography, online extremism, cyber harassment, identity theft and financial fraud as opposed to curtailing freedom of expression.
“The Government notes the public interest, commentary and concerns of timeliness following the assent to eight Bills by the President. The presentation of the Bills for assent was pre-arranged and scheduled to ensure compliance with strict constitutional, statutory and procedural timelines, international commitments and conditions,” said Dr. Mwaura.
He noted that the new amendments do not curtail freedom of expression or give Government agencies unchecked power to silence dissent, as alleged.
The Government Spokesperson said the bill will strengthen Kenya’s capacity to combat real and growing threats such as child pornography, online extremism, terrorism propaganda, cyber-harassment, identity theft and financial fraud.
On the Privatization Act, he further noted that the new law introduces scrutiny, including publication of proposed privatisation methods-whether through Initial Public Offers (IPOs), public tenders, or pre-emptive rights-ensuring transparency and preventing the unilateral disposal of national assets.
“Contrary to claims that the law allows the Executive to “sell public assets unchecked,” the new act strengthens, rather than weakens, oversight and accountability. It expressly requires approval by both the Cabinet and the National Assembly before any government asset or shareholding in a State corporation can be sold,” he said.
He reaffirmed that the Government acted according to the law in granting assent, as provided under Article 115 of the Constitution and all the Bills assented to, were the outcome of public Committee Reviews and Parliamentary debate processes as required by the Constitution.
