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High Court declares parts of Cybercrimes Act unconstitutional, rules website shutdowns without court orders violate free speech. [iStockphoto]
The High Court has declared two key provisions of the Computer Misuse and Cybercrimes (Amendment) Act, 2025 unconstitutional, dealing a significant blow to the State's power to unilaterally block websites and criminalise certain forms of online speech.
In a landmark judgment on Thursday, Justice Patricia Nyaundi struck down Section 6(1)(jA), which empowered the National Computer and Cybercrimes Coordination Committee to order websites or applications rendered inaccessible without prior court approval, and Section 27(1)(b), which criminalised communication likely to cause another person to commit suicide.
"The consolidated petitions partially succeed. Section 6(1)(jA) and Section 27(1)(b) of the Computer Misuse and Cybercrimes (Amendment) Act, 2025 are declared unconstitutional," Justice Nyaundi ordered.
