Kenya among African nations that imposed internet shutdowns in 2024- Report
In Kenya’s case, the disruption coincided with a period of political tension and anti-government demonstrations.
Kenya was among a select number of African nations that deliberately cut off internet access in 2024—a move sharply criticised by digital rights advocates who view it as a serious threat to freedom of expression.
This is according to the 2024 Digital Rights and Inclusion Report by the Paradigm Initiative (PIN), launched during the Digital Rights and Inclusion Forum (DRIF). The report characterised such shutdowns as a blatant violation of global human rights standards.
PIN described the blackouts as "a failure to uphold national, regional, and international commitments to protect freedom of expression and the right to information."
Unlike countries such as Gambia, where internet outages were linked to undersea cable malfunctions, the shutdowns in Kenya, Comoros, Mauritius, and Mozambique were flagged as deliberate actions by the state.
In Kenya’s case, the disruption coincided with a period of political tension and anti-government demonstrations.
While authorities cited security concerns, human rights organisations contend that the real aim was to stifle protest mobilisation and prevent live broadcasting of the demonstrations.
This incident adds to Kenya’s troubling history of digital censorship. During the 2017 general elections, there were widespread fears of a similar shutdown, although the government dismissed such claims at the time.
Meanwhile, the cost of internet access in the country remains steep, especially for economically disadvantaged groups.
The PIN report underscores how expensive mobile data disproportionately burdens women and girls in remote and low-income urban communities.
Findings from the 2023 Alliance for Affordable Internet (A4AI) report placed Kenya among nations where internet access still exceeds the UN Broadband Commission’s affordability benchmark—2% of average monthly income.
This means that for many households, internet access is an unaffordable luxury rather than a basic right.
Exacerbating the situation is Kenya’s reliance on outdated and harsh laws to police online expression.
The PIN report raised alarms over the ongoing criminalisation of “false news,” calling it a tool routinely used to intimidate and silence critics.
In one recent instance, a university student in Kisii was taken into custody over allegations of spreading false information online related to a planned protest.