A Kenyan software developer and digital activist who was arrested last week after creating a tool for people to express their opposition to a proposed law has been arraigned in court and released on bail, amid public anger at her detention and growing signs of repression in the east African country and its neighbors. Rose Njeri was on Tuesday accused of violating the country’s computer misuse and cybercrime law.
Njeri published a post on X on 19 May announcing her new tool. “I wrote a simple program that lets you reject the Finance Bill 2025 with just one click. Click below to send your objection,” she said. She was arrested at her home in Nairobi on Friday, and police confiscated her electronic devices. Prosecutors said on the charge sheet that her tool enabled users to automatically send emails to the national assembly’s finance committee, “thereby interfering with the normal functioning of the systems”.
Her arrest sparked outrage in the country, with politicians, civil society members, and Kenyans at large condemning it and calling for her release. Activists and family members protested outside the police station where she was being held on Sunday. The executive director of Amnesty International Kenya, Irũngũ Houghton, said in a statement on Tuesday: “It is clear to us that Rose Njeri’s rights have been severally violated, and any contemplated fair trial is in jeopardy.”
Njeri’s tool related to a finance bill that proposes a wide range of tax changes to increase government revenue. Experts say it may increase tax burdens and reduce Kenyans’ disposable income. A similar proposed law last year caused unprecedented protests that led to the killing of dozens of protesters and the disappearance and abduction of many more. Njeri’s arrest is in line with what observers say is a wave of repression by east African governments cracking down on dissent.
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