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Amnesty International: Kenyan Authorities Funded Online Troll Networks to Harass Gen Z Protesters

A new report by Amnesty International has accused Kenyan authorities of paying coordinated networks of online trolls to harass, threaten and intimidate young protesters during the nationwide anti-government demonstrations of 2024 and 2025.

According to the human rights organisation, state agencies orchestrated targeted digital abuse, surveillance and disinformation campaigns against youth-led protest organisers, many of whom mobilised through social media platforms including X, TikTok and Facebook. The protests — driven largely by Gen Z Kenyans — focused on rising taxes, corruption, increasing femicide cases and deepening economic hardships.

Kenya’s Interior Minister, Kipchumba Murkomen, denied the allegations, stating that the government “does not sanction harassment or violence against any citizen” and emphasised that any security officer found culpable would face individual accountability.

However, Amnesty International said its findings reveal a deliberate and systematic attempt to “silence and suppress” the protest movement by deploying digital operatives to intimidate activists, distort narratives and discourage public participation.

The report has sparked renewed scrutiny of Kenya’s handling of dissent, as rights groups call for independent investigations into the alleged state-backed online harassment network.