Musalia Mudavadi
The Kenyan government has broken silence after a section of Kenyans massively sent emails to the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs requesting the cancellation of King Willem-Alexander’s trip to Kenya.
In a statement on Thursday, the Foreign Affairs Ministry termed the move by netizens as cyberbullying activities aimed at discrediting the government.
According to the ministry, the crude cyber activities began in the wake of the protests of the Gen Z in June 2024.
“The Ministry of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs expresses concern over recent cyber activities spreading misinformation and disinformation aimed at undermining the credibility of the Government.
“These activities, initially sparked by genuine protests by “Gen Zs,” have evolved into organised cyber attacks by a few social media influencers and seek to delegitimize government initiatives, discourage high-level visits, de-campaign Kenya’s candidates for international and regional positions, while sending intimidatory messages to members of the international community,” read the statement in part.
The Ministry noted that the cyber activities are majorly AI-generated deepfakes including fabricated narratives, widespread misinformation campaigns, and coordinated auto-generated emails that are unfortunately being sent to foreign capitals.
The Mudavadi-led Ministry however reassured its partners that measures are underway to counter these cyber challenges.
“The Ministry seeks to reassure all partners that all efforts are underway to address these challenges including but not limited to the development of a Technology Responsibility Charter aimed at promoting accountability and ethical practices in the digital space,” the Ministry stated.
Further, the Foreign Affairs Ministry assured diplomatic Missions, UN Agencies, and International Organizations of its willingness to discuss any concerns or clarifications.
According to the Dutch national broadcaster, Nederlandse Omroep Stichting (NOS), the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that it has received more than 300 emails from Kenyans expressing concern about human rights abuses, including the abduction and disappearance of government critics.
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