Dagoretti North legislator Beatrice Elachi leads call for stricter online regulations following National Prayer Breakfast
Kenyan lawmakers are preparing to introduce stricter regulations on social media platforms following growing concerns over cyberbullying, inappropriate content sharing, and online harassment targeting politicians and citizens alike.
Dagoretti North Member of Parliament Beatrice Elachi announced the legislative initiative during a television appearance, citing the proliferation of harmful content on social media platforms as a key driver for the proposed amendments.
“Social media is good and was meant to build self, but was not meant for Kenyans to send us their nakedness because that’s what they are doing to us. We will amend the law,” Elachi stated during her appearance on Citizen TV.
The MP expressed particular concern about the impact on young people, arguing that social media platforms have become breeding grounds for cyberbullying, child exploitation, pornography distribution, and gambling promotion. She characterized the current situation as an abuse of freedom of expression rather than its legitimate exercise.
“As women parliamentarians, one day we will open our phones and show you the things we see. We will sort that out by amending the law,” Elachi warned, suggesting that female legislators bear a disproportionate burden of online harassment.
The announcement follows a National Prayer Breakfast held on May 28, where Members of Parliament from across party lines gathered to address what they described as a growing crisis of online hate and division. The event, themed “Rise and Rebuild,” saw legislators calling for divine intervention to address social media abuse.
National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang’ula set the tone for the gathering, emphasizing that the annual event had evolved beyond tradition to become a platform for addressing national challenges. During the prayer session, Elachi directly addressed what she termed “the evil spirit behind the abuse of social media.”
“Our youth are hopeless, and we pray that the spirit of social media running our country is dealt with. May we stand for what is best for our nation and future generations,” she declared during the prayer session.
The proposed amendments represent a significant shift in Kenya’s approach to online content regulation, though specific details of the planned legislation have not yet been disclosed. The initiative reflects broader concerns across Africa about balancing digital freedoms with protection from online harm.
Critics of increased social media regulation often argue that such measures could restrict legitimate political discourse and freedom of expression, particularly in countries where social media serves as a vital platform for civic engagement and government accountability.
The timing of the announcement is notable, coming as Kenya grapples with broader questions about digital governance and the role of social media in political and social discourse. The country has previously implemented regulations on digital platforms, though enforcement and effectiveness have varied.
Elachi’s comments suggest that the proposed amendments will target multiple areas of concern, including cyberbullying prevention, restrictions on inappropriate content sharing, and measures to protect minors from exploitation. However, the specific mechanisms for enforcement and the scope of the regulations remain unclear.
The cross-party nature of the National Prayer Breakfast gathering indicates potential bipartisan support for social media regulation, though the legislative process will likely involve extensive debate about the appropriate balance between online safety and digital rights.
As Kenya’s parliament prepares to tackle this complex issue, stakeholders across the digital ecosystem will be watching closely to see how the proposed amendments might reshape the country’s online landscape and what precedent they might set for digital governance across the region.
The success of any such legislation will likely depend on its ability to address legitimate concerns about online harm while preserving the democratic and economic benefits that social media platforms provide to Kenyan society.
Westlands MP Tim Wanyonyi during a CDF functions on Sunday explained that he bolted out of the Nairobi gubernatorial race because ODM leader Raila Odinga had received Jubilee backing for presidency and therefore they had to relinquish the Nairobi seat.
Wanyonyi had been touted as the best candidate to occupy Nairobi seat but his ambition was shot down after negotiations with the Jubilee party which will field Polycarp Igathe.
“Because of the arrangement of parties to work together, it comes along with its challenges. And it is due to those challenges that it was agreed that because ODM had been given the presidency, we had to relinquish the Nairobi Governor’s seat for Jubilee,” Wanyonyi said.
But what’s not known to many is that Wanyonyi’s bid had been shot down by ODM leaders from his own Luhya backyard. A section of Luhya leaders identifying themselves as ‘Mulembe Grass root Leaders’ drawn from the ODM party had in January stated that Nairobi was their only bargaining for power.
That was never the case when it came to negotiations. The group led by Vincent Shimoli and drawn from Nairobi’s 85 wards had endorsed Hon. Tim Wanyonyi as their candidate but never backed him during the Azimio negotiations.
In fact, those who loudly shot down Wanyonyi’s bid are Luhya leaders who have been in bed with Jubilee even way before the handshake between President Uhuru Kenyatta and ODM leader Raila Odinga.
So Wanyonyi did not step down but was pushed down by his own people led by former Nairobi County Assembly Speaker Beatrice Elachi who is conveniently in ODM under the instructions of her spin masters who are Jubilee big wigs.
Prior to her nomination as the Chief Administrative Secretary (CAS) in the Ministry of Public Service and Gender, Elachi spent all her precious time abusing ODM leadership and Simba Arati.
Dogoret North parliamentary aspirant Beatrice Elachi. She opposed Wanyonyi’s gubernatorial bid [p/courtesy]But in the run up to ODM party primaries, she became a sweetheart begging Tim Wanyonyi and SG Edwin Sifuna to help her secure the party ticket to run for Dogoreti North Constituency seat.
She is a Judas who has no right and moral authority to talk about Luhyas and on behalf of Hon Tim Wanyonyi. The former Jubilee nominated senator has never supported any course that favors the Mulembe nation.
Elachi is part of a pack of vindictive and dreadful wolves which include top Luhya leaders in ODM who are not happy with Wanyonyi’s fast and stable rise in politics.
The cabal of Luhya leaders who feel that Wanyonyi is becoming a threat in ODM succession matrix coerced Odinga to throw him, under the bus.
Because Wanyonyi as the governor of Nairobi would definitely lead to emergence of a new crop of Luhya leaders who would take from the likes of Wycliffe Oparanya who is retiring as Kakamega governor.
In a nut shell, Luhya leaders in ODM chose to stifle democracy by sacrificing Hon. Tim Wanyonyi, a person living with disability, loyal member and supporter ODM to support of a political novice.
Nairobi County Assembly is never short of drama. Former speaker Beatrice Elachi after endless fights, threw in the towel and resigned, Majority Whip Abdi Guyo has had his share of fight, a veteran in City Hall life, he was thrown out of his position before he got reinstated. The two leaders haven’t been in good books with each other for long. It all began the moment Elachi took over as the speaker assuming a managerial position and having a bigger say in the operations of city hall, at that time Guyo was in the assembly’s board and calling shots, this was a classic case of putting two rival bulls under same shade.
Their rivalry has played has played openly in the public arena. In 2019, Guyo sponsored a motion to impeach Elachi, it sailed and only to be reinstated later through a court order. Guyo ganged up with his goons and stormed into Elachi’s office in a well documented fiasco.
In the heights of the troubles, the then governor Mike Sonko intervened and eliminated Guyo as the majority leader.
Sonko in his dismissal letter said Guyo was a predicament in his implementation of jubilee policies and that his sustained attacks and intimidation towards the speaker and county staff could no longer stand.
Sonko has effectively nominated, Maringo Hamza MCA, Hon. Mark Ndung’u to take over from Guyo as the majority leader. Guyo fought his ways and was later reinstated by Raphael Tuju, sources privy to the intense lobbying leading to the reprieve confides that the Sec Gen gave in after getting his hands greased. Tables have since turned on Tuju, he’s facing imminent ouster from the jubilee party.
Guyo has had run ins with the authorities, having been in City Hall for over a decade since he started as a councilor, has a wide scope of networks, the man now eyeing a parliamentary seat has amassed wealth that doesn’t align with his salaries, Guyo has been a subject of investigations over suspicions of corruption but has escaped the dragnets thanks to his networks in the investigating bodies.
Guyo has been under EACC investigations in which Investigators found a direct link between Guyo and Flexilease Limited, one of the garbage collection companies implicated in a scandal that EACC was investigating how money from the bank accounts of the garbage collection companies ended up in Sonko’s private bank accounts.
Flexilease was being investigated for receiving payments for services not delivered and making the Nairobi County government pay for ghost workers. Guyo, a close ally of National Assembly Majority Leader Aden Duale, is also being investigated over a scam involving public toilets in the city. He is accused of working with shadowy businessman identified as Abbas Khalifa to grab all public toilets.
According to sources close to the investigations, Guyo and Abbas pocket at least Shs 1 million each every week from the public toilets. Investigators were also probing the source of Guyo’s sudden wealth. He is said to be building a huge shopping mall in Isiolo and has properties spead across the city. One of our preying birds is telling us he recently bought an apartment in Buru Buru for one of his concubines, a journalist attached to City Hall.
Guyo recently got mentioned in Covid-millionaires saga in which he was accused of money meant for the vulnerable.
The fresh scam involved distribution of relief food to vulnerable families in Nairobi’s informal settlements as a cushion during the COVID-19 pandemic an idea of controversial Matopeni MCA Abdi Guyo. The scandal would see Sh84 million paid to shadowy companies associated with him and Kananu.
Six shadowy companies were paid for the supply of foodstuffs and other necessities but it was flagged by MCAs who alleged that nothing was supplied and money pocketed allegedly by Guyo and associates.
The foodstuffs that were to be distributed in the feeding programme include sugar, rice, loaves of bread and long-life milk, maize and wheat flour as well as other items such as blankets, sanitary pads and basins.
‘I want to confirm that this is a COVID-19 billionaires scandal since some of the slums listed to have benefited from the feeding programme never received the said foodstuffs,” said one of the ODM MCAs when we contacted him.
Here is a breakdown of the monies paid to the six companies associated with Guyo and his cronies at City Hall.
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We also conducted a search of the companies at the Registrar of Companies and we confirmed that the six companies are linked to Guyo and his cronies at City Hall. Here are the results of the CR12 from the companies.
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According to sources at the Nairobi City County Assembly, it would be difficult for the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission to prosecute individuals at the center of the scam since the EACC Deputy CEO and Director of Investigations Mohamud Abdi is a close associate of Guyo in their get rich business deals at City Hall.
Sonko on several occasions accused Abdi of being corrupt and wanted him stopped from investigating him. There are videos that were floated online allegedly of Guyo taking bribe stashed in a gunny bag to Abdi. At the time, Guyo was leading the battalion in the impeachment of Sonko. Sonko alleged that Guyo with his close ties with Abdi ganged up to frustrate and implicate him in dirty deals. Sonko in the same bad blood had accused Abdi of colluding with cartels to grab a land something he attributed to his tribulations with EACC.
“I would generally have a problem with individuals misusing public offices to cover-up for their crimes, while at the same time using intimidation, witch-hunt and arm-twisting tactics against those genuinely committed to fighting corruption and impunity in Kenya.” Sonko said when he accused Abdi of using his position as EACC commissioner to fraudulently facilitate grabbing of a land to his friend.
“In May 2014, one JOHNSON NYAGA KIBIRA (a former Nairobi County employee) attempted to build a Boundary Wall and a Gatehouse on Land Reference Number NAIROBI/BLOCK 103/793 in Mugoya Estate on Muhoho Road, South C which is a public utility plot earmarked for ECDE Centre/Playground for children in Mugoya Estate. When Mugoya Estate Residents reached out to me then as the Senator of Nairobi County, and we confronted the land grabber, we found that he purported to have a title for the land issued by County Council of Nairobi on 20th September 2012 although the land had been a playground for children since the estate was built.”
“On 27th May, 2014, we agreed with the residents that they report the matter to EACC and in a letter on the same date, Catherine Njiru of P.O. Box 59041-00200Nairobi wrote on behalf of the Estate Residents to EACC requesting for investigations into allegations of suspected fraudulent/irregular acquisition of the public land Plot Number NAIROBI/BLOCK 103/793 in South C. Evidence shows that the allegations of grabbing of that land were true and merited investigations as a matter of urgency.”
“On 16th July, 2014, EACC Director of Investigations Abdi A. Mohamud responded to Catherine Njiru vide letter Ref. No. EACC. 6/16/1 Vol, XXVIII (69)-46286noting receipt of the letter dated 27th May 2014. The letter acknowledged the allegations of suspected fraudulent/irregular acquisition of public land and promised to take the necessary steps to verify the same to inform action, as need be. Interestingly, the Director of Investigations also advised the Complainant that she “may seek further intervention from the National Land Commission” even though she had indicated it as a public land.”
“However, despite the undertaking, Abdi A. Mohamud as EACC Director of Investigations refused to investigate the complaint of Catherine Njiru at all, contrary to section 25 of the Anti-corruption and Economic Crimes Act, 2003 which makes it mandatory for EACC to investigate every complaint unless it dismisses the same in writing. It took another report to EACC 4 years later on 23rd July 2018 for the Commission to launch inquiry into the grabbing of the subject plot.”
“According to the intelligence I have, instead of investigating the complaint upon receipt, the EACC Director of Investigations Abdi A. Mohamud immediately used the information obtained from the whistle blower on the grabbing of the public land in South to appropriate the land for himself and his personal friend Isaack Abdullahi Ibrahim and the same plot had been transferred to him by 11th December 2014.“ Said Sonko in an explosive expose.
Fast forward to recent updates, while the former speaker left City Hall to become the Gender and Public Service CAS, troubles from the first have never stopped following her.
In the latest frenzy, the assembly adopted a report that recommended investigative bodies to probe Elachi for violation of the law and abuse office by usurping the powers of the County Assembly Service Board where she served as a chairperson board.
In its finding, the report suggested that promotion and recruitments of staff that took place in 2020 during Elachi’s tenure were against the law and were declared null and void.
However, Elachi defended herself and noted that it was pure malice for the assembly to call her ‘rogue’ as she was finishing a promotion process initiated by the late Alex Magelo who was her predecessor.
“Never has it been on record that I stole money while I was the Speaker. Everything I did is on record and It was not Elachi as a person but as the chairperson of the county assembly board. This is pure malice,” Elachi added.
Abdi Guyo who’s once again spearheading the calls for investigations on the speaker, insisted that Elachi is solely responsible for the irregular appointments.
”“The report is shocking and it reveals that everything was done following a decision by one person and not the board. This is an abuse of power,” Majority leader said.
Kenya Insights has obtained copies of the document that the scandal emanates from and can authoritatively say the decision for the promotions was approved and signed by the board members and not an individual as alleged by Guyo.
Journalists covering the City Hall scandals have become biased according to observations. Our birds say they’ve been properly compromised by the cartels to tell stories that are only favorable to them and in pushing convenient narratives. Brown envelopes have become part of the daily menu.
We’ve also obtained documents showing that Deloitte Kenya, was contracted by the County to research and recommend structural changes at City Hall who would improve service deliver. Deloitte was paid Sh5M.
To implement the recommendations, 2 more board members had to be recruited since it wasn’t fully constituted as recommended by the law. This recruitment process was presided over by the Public Service Commission and Strathmore University. The 2 members formed the part of directors who approved the questioned promotions.
Elachi is now headed to the courts to sue the Nairobi County Assembly for defamation.
Elachi said the assembly has continued to tarnish her name despite her willingly leaving the institution 14 months ago.
SPEAKER: Former Nairobi County Assembly Speaker Beatrice Elachi.
In what perhaps she saw coming, Elachi who terms all this political witch-hunt and settling scores, knew Guyo and alike would at one point come after her in leaving office and she left office with all copies of files she appended her signature for defense.
“We must do better than what the men do in this political arena. When I was resigning I made sure I had all copies that had my signatures and walked away with them.” Elachi said when she met women aspirants and the media at an event hosted by Journalists for Human Rights.
Elachi did this so that when someone tried to accuse her of corruption or any office related misappropriation, she has the documents to back her up.
“I realized that when you don’t steal money people will create stories like abuse of office. When you have documentation, you leave them to create the story then you come with your file and ask them to show you the abuse of office claims,” she said.
As accusations continue fly around, Guyo who’s said to be a supremo in City Hall, has become so powerful that the General Badi isn’t able to contain him, the two are said to be close together and coming from same ethnic group, Abdi who’s also close to a relative to the president and MCA, has managed to get into the good books with the president who is likely unaware of how dirty Guyo moves. Badi vowed to dismantle the cartels of city hall but that’s a wet dream.
So entrenched in looting public funds that Kenya Insights has learnt that Committee members are bribed with unwarranted trips, stipends. Recently, budgeting committee traveled to Turkey to discuss how to pay pending bills and budget for the country. This is something they could easily do in the boardroom or an hotel in the city or if it’s the itch of traveling, Mombasa or Naivasha would do, but no, public funds must be misused, such trips out members at the mercy of leaders to support their agendas before the table.
We’re also aware that the same committee is planning for a similar trip to Dubai to further misuse public funds while normal Nairobian thrive in burden. In the chain of looting, the devolution ministry officials who give approval to the trips are roped in. We’re told for every approval/per member, Sh5,000 bribe is given.
In the middle of the employment chaos, Guyo is accused of irregularly recruiting his relatives including a brother-in-law, cousin. Former clerk Jacob Ngwele who’s a close associate of Guyo is also accused of securing a job for one of the officers in investigative agencies and who was investigating the Trip by an associate Abass to Dubai. This he allegedly did to stop the Investigations.
In the corruption web at City Hall is a lady only identified to us as Nancy who is married to a banker with Central Bank, when Ngwele and team lost control of accessing funds , the husband played a big role in accessing the cash. Another lady who previously worked for City Hall and now with Judge Warsame who gave a favorable and controversial ruling in favor of Ngwele it remains a puzzle how in the ruling Warsame incorporated Edward Gichana who wasn’t part of the suit neither applied to be enjoined. Ruling rose suspicions and foul play. The web is wide and suspect.
It is an intricate web, what we’ve provided is just a shallow grave, in subsequent articles we shall dive in deeper. For now, a multi agency investigation should be initiated to unearth the truths and separate facts from fictions.
