There Will Be No Interfering With Facebook During Elections; Matiang’i Says

Dr. Fred Matiang’i, the interior cabinet secretary, has refuted rumors that the government will block access to social media and the internet during elections.

In a press conference on Saturday, Matiang’i claimed that warnings that Facebook will be inaccessible were merely personal beliefs.

“Some people are saying that maybe during elections we will shut down Facebook…That is a view, the position of the government is very clear; we will respect the Constitution and all the rights of our people. We will not intrude or interfere with the freedoms of our people,” Matiang’i said.

“I have not heard anything about shutting down social media or interfering with Facebook because of the elections.”
The CS maintained that there is no justification for shutting down social media since the government upholds democracy and all Kenyans are free to express themselves and continue to enjoy their liberties.

He asserted that the comments were made by a member of the National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC), and that they should be regarded as the employee’s personal viewpoint rather than the perspective of the government.

“We are a mature government, criticism is a way of life and we are used to it. Sometimes when citizens criticize us it’s okay, that is what they are supposed to do because we are not leading animals, we are leading human beings, some of who have ideas better than us,” the CS noted.

“We work in a democratic setup and we will not interfere with social media or the internet just because of elections. My colleague in the ICT and I have said this before, that is nowhere in our cards. Some commissioner expressed an opinion which we are not going to take.”

Dr. Matiang’i added: “We cannot just wake up one morning and do things which Kenyans are not used to. Kenyans are used to freedoms and we will live in peace and ensure that citizens have the peace they need during the electioneering period.”

This comes after an earlier declaration by NCIC Commissioner Danvas Makori, who threatened to ban Meta Inc.’s Facebook in Kenya for what appeared to be a violation of the government body’s hate speech guidelines.