Kenya’s digital revolution has brought with it a new civic reality: speaking up online can now put your life and freedom at risk.
A new Amnesty International report shows that during and after the 2024 Gen Z protests, the same platforms that energised political mobilisation also exposed young people to unprecedented levels of surveillance, harassment, and physical danger.
Amnesty documented more than 3,000 arrests, 83 enforced disappearances and at least 128 deaths linked to excessive force since 2024, a pattern that reveals how deeply digital and physical repression have become intertwined.
What began as online anger over proposed tax hikes quickly evolved into a nationwide movement powered by TikTok videos, rapid-fire updates on X (formerly Twitter) and crowdsourced fundraising.
But it also unfolded under a rapidly expanding State surveillance apparatus that transformed online footprints into real-world vulnerability.
Digital monitoring tools
Kenyan security agencies, the report notes, have invested heavily in digital monitoring tools over the past decade.
This enhanced capacity allowed authorities to track communication patterns and identify vocal activists, turning social media posts into potential flags for physical targeting.
Several protesters told Amnesty that threats first appeared in their inboxes, and then at their doorsteps.
One human rights defender from Mombasa said she received anonymous messages detailing her child’s school, stream and bus number plate before she was abducted for two nights.
“I had people coming into my inbox telling me, ‘You will die and leave your kids… What you’re doing is not right,’” she said. “Someone even sent me my child’s name and details. They told me, ‘If you continue, we will take care of this child for you.’”
Self-censorship
Such intimidation triggered widespread self-censorship among young Kenyans who had once found unfiltered political expression online.
Amnesty notes that many activists became more cautious, fearing that even private chats could reveal their location or identity through device-based tracking and facial recognition systems increasingly used by State agencies.
The report also highlights the rise of coordinated online propaganda, with paid teams pushing hashtags that discredited protesters or framed them as foreign-sponsored.
One participant described a WhatsApp group of about 20 people paid up to Sh50,000 daily to influence trending topics, reinforcing pro-State narratives while drowning out organic messaging.
Gender targeting
Female activists faced an additional layer of harm as AI-generated pornographic images were deployed to shame and silence them, a tactic described in the report as both gendered and technologically sophisticated.
Compounding these pressures were internet disruptions on key protest days. On June 25, 2024, for instance, Kenya experienced a nearly 40 percent drop in connectivity, affecting platforms like X and Signal — essential channels for real-time coordination.
These interruptions came just as social media usage surged across the country, with Facebook crossing the 50 percent usage mark for the first time, according to the Communications Authority.
Despite the risks — abductions, intimidation, propaganda, disinformation and connectivity sabotage — digital organising has not died out.
Kenyans continue to use social platforms to demand accountability, call for the release of political detainees and seek justice for those killed during the repression.
