Why The Kenya Communication (Amendment) Act is The Biggest Threat To Bloggers

The Kenya Communication (Amendment) Act is a piece of legislation that seeks to make what would be Civil Defamation proceedings to be Criminal. This according to bloggers is a threat to them and should be amended. Two of Kenya’s most prominent bloggers Dennis Itumbi and Roy Kohadha Ogolla recommend the same.

Dennis Itumbi:

Let me say this and am not defending @Robert Alai – We need to ammend the Kenya Communication Ammendment Act, that piece of legislation seeks to make what would be Civil Defamation proceedings to be Criminal – In the present arrest I sincerely believe that if William Odoul is aggrieved he should seek relieve from a defamation suit – I have won a similar suit against Alai, but as a Civil suit, don’t make Civil suits criminal using a patchwork of legislation…This Communication Act is the biggest threat to blogging….in this case Kohadha Roy Ogolla tells me Odoul asked Alai to grant him a right of reply and he declined, even offering proof that he was not married and that the photos were first circulated by an ODM MP on the campaign trail, but Alai declined and dared him to go on and take police action..my take…Civil suits remains Civil they cannot be turned into Criminal acts…Though the CID are acting within the law as it stands, its a law that needs urgent review by our courts, Alai can actually decline to take plea and seek constitutional interpretation first…Hope he does….but after that Odoul has a right to seek Civil relief.. I will say it again write and comment what you can proof….

In agreement, Ogolla opines that;

Dennis Itumbi, I cannot agree with you more than thisThe Kenya Communication Act needs an amendment like yesterday.

You can read what the Kenya Communication (Amendment) Act entails HERE.