{"id":140908,"date":"2026-05-13T11:02:55","date_gmt":"2026-05-13T11:02:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/lsk-digital-rights-groups-move-to-supreme-court-over-cyber-surveillance-law\/"},"modified":"2026-05-13T11:02:55","modified_gmt":"2026-05-13T11:02:55","slug":"lsk-digital-rights-groups-move-to-supreme-court-over-cyber-surveillance-law","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/lsk-digital-rights-groups-move-to-supreme-court-over-cyber-surveillance-law\/","title":{"rendered":"LSK, Digital Rights Groups Move to Supreme Court Over Cyber Surveillance Law"},"content":{"rendered":"

NAIROBI, Kenya May 13 \u2013 A fresh legal battle over digital freedoms is now headed to the Supreme Court, in a case that could redefine the limits of State surveillance and the privacy rights of millions of Kenyans.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Law Society of Kenya, together with Bloggers Association of Kenya, Article 19 Eastern Africa and Kenya Union of Journalists, has petitioned the apex court to strike down controversial surveillance provisions contained in the Computer Misuse and Cybercrimes Act, 2018.<\/p>\n

The petition comes months after the Court of Appeal delivered a landmark judgment in March 2026 invalidating Sections 22 and 23 of the Act clauses that criminalised the publication of false or misleading information online.<\/p>\n

In the ruling, the appellate judges described the provisions as unguided missiles capable of ensnaring innocent citizens and suppressing legitimate expression.<\/p>\n

The court found the sections unconstitutional for being vague, overly broad and inconsistent with freedom of expression guaranteed under the Constitution.<\/p>\n

While that decision was hailed as a major victory for digital rights and press freedom, the Court of Appeal left intact another set of provisions that civil society groups now say pose an even greater threat to constitutional liberties.<\/p>\n

The petition is based on Sections 48 to 53 of the law, which grant authorities powers to intercept emails, phone calls and other digital communications for periods extending up to nine months.<\/p>\n

The same provisions also compel internet service providers and telecommunications firms to surrender subscriber data to investigators and permit officers executing cybercrime warrants to search any person found within premises linked to investigations involving digital systems or devices.<\/p>\n

The petitioners argue that the powers are excessively broad and lack sufficient judicial oversight, effectively creating a framework for intrusive State surveillance.<\/p>\n

According to the groups, the law fails to establish clear safeguards on how surveillance orders are obtained, supervised or limited, exposing citizens to potential abuse and arbitrary monitoring.<\/p>\n

The organisations further argue that the provisions offend Article 31 of the Constitution, which guarantees the right to privacy, including protection from unnecessary searches and the interception of communications.<\/p>\n

They also cite Article 33, warning that unchecked surveillance inevitably chills free expression by creating fear among journalists, activists, whistleblowers and ordinary citizens communicating online.<\/p>\n

The petitioners say the case is not merely about cybercrime enforcement, but about defining the constitutional boundaries of State power in the digital age.<\/p>\n

They warn that without firm constitutional limits, the surveillance framework could gradually erode public trust in digital communication platforms and weaken democratic participation.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NAIROBI, Kenya May 13 \u2013 A fresh legal battle over digital freedoms is now headed to the Supreme Court, in a case that could redefine the limits of State surveillance and the privacy rights of millions of Kenyans. The Law Society of Kenya, together with Bloggers Association of Kenya, Article 19 Eastern Africa and Kenya […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-140908","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","entry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/140908","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=140908"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/140908\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=140908"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=140908"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=140908"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}