TUE, SEPT 25 2018-theG&BJournal-The Bloggers Association of Kenya (BAKE) have expressed concerned that the Kenyan government has reintroduced sections of the Computer Misuse and Cyber Crimes Act, (2018) that were suspended by the High Court.
The specific sections of the Finance Act BAKE say that they have identified are; 47. The Tax Procedures Act, 2015 is amended by inserting the following new sections immediately after section 103—29 of 2015. Unauthorized access or improper use of computerized tax system.
103A. (1) A person who—(a) knowingly and without lawful authority, by any means, gains access to or attempts to gain access to any computerized tax system; (b) having lawful access to any computerized tax knowingly uses or discloses information obtained from such system for a purpose that is not authorised; or 103B. (1) A person who knowingly —(a) falsifies any record or information stored in any computerized tax system; (b) damages or impairs any computerized tax system; or (c) damages or impairs any duplicate tape or disc or other medium on which any information obtained from a computerized tax system is held or stored otherwise than with the permission of the Commissioner, commits an offence. (2) A person convicted of an offence under subsection (1) shall be liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years, or to a fine not exceeding eight hundred thousand shillings, or to both.
In the Finance Act that was signed by President Uhuru Kenyatta last week, various sections have the same provisions as in the Cybercrimes law. This move compels us to seek an amendment to the current case we are pursuing against the Cybercrimes to include these new provisions.
A decision on the suspension of 26 sections of the Cybercrimes law will be made on 1st October following an appeal by the Attorney General. It is worrying that government is already running ahead to duplicate certain sections while the courts’ decision is pending. BAKE will not sit back and allow the government to take back hard-earned freedoms.
On October 1st 2018, while High Court Judge Wilfrida Okwany will be making her decision on the case, we shall apply for an amendment to the case to add these provisions.
The Finance Act comes to effect on October 31st 2018.
