The Kenya Film Classification Board has issued a strongly worded statement on the rise and rampant sharing of explicit content on online platforms.
Taking issue with recent cases including the disturbing video of a mother killing and cannibalising her child, KFCB CEO Christopher Wambua called the frequency disconcerting.
The video which went viral online on Tuesday was shared without warning on multiple platforms including on Whatsapp.
“(The Board) has been drawn to the sharing of graphic and disturbing audio-visual content on social media platforms in utter disregard for the interests and safety of children and other vulnerable members of society. In the recent past, this vice has not only become rampant but also taken a disconcerting turn with some bloggers and social media users sharing extremely offensive video content with the potential to cause harm. A case in point is the recent streaming of graphic content of a mother killing a minor in Kitengela,” the statement read in part.
The woman, Olivia Kaserran, has already been arrested over the murder which was filmed by her neighbours on Sunday night.
Further condemning the sharing of video without consent, the board said that as a society we bore the responsibility of protecting minors and children from accessing such content posing the question as to whether we had “normalised violence and misogyny to the point of being insensitive to these vices.”
Prior to the Kitengela video, several uncensored videos have gone viral within the last two months including an explicit video allegedly of CAS Millicent Omanga and a video of a man stabbing a woman at a Kitengela fast food facility.
Keeping within its mandate as an advisory board, the statement brought up the laws governing the sharing of content saying: “The freedom of expression, which is enshrined under Article 33 of our Constitution, is not absolute. It has certain limitations. Freedom of expression must also be interpreted within the broader context of other provisions of the Constitution, including Article 11 on culture, Article 24 on the limitation of rights and fundamental freedoms and Articles 53 and 55 which advocate the rights of the child and the youth respectively. Offenders, therefore, ought to take note of this.”
“It is illegal to share intimate images or videos of other parties without their consent. Section 37 of the Computer Misuse and Cybercrimes Act states: “A person who transfers, publishes, or disseminates, including making a digital depiction available for distribution or downloading through a telecommunications network or through any other means of transferring data to a computer, the intimate or obscene image of another person commits an offence and is liable, on conviction to a fine not exceeding two hundred thousand shillings or imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years, or to both.”
Appealing to parents and caregivers, KFCB also reiterated the importance of paying keen attention to the content children were consuming online, urging guardians and parents to take “responsibility to ensure minors do not access inappropriate content.” The board further urged platform operators to strictly “enforce community guidelines” and social media users to “reflect on child online safety.”
To conclude the board restated its mandate, pledging to uphold the following:-
– Continue to monitoring and flagging offensive and disturbing audio-visual content and reporting the same to relevant Government agencies and platform operators for appropriate action.
-In collaboration with relevant public and private sector agencies, the Board will continue empowering parents/caregivers with the necessary skills and knowledge to enable them to help children navigate the online environment safely. Through the Parental Digital Literacy (PaDiL) Programme, the Board has joined hands with Netflix, Tik Tok and Google to empower parents with the knowledge to undertake their parenting responsibilities effectively in an increasingly digital environment.
In consultation with the Ministry of Youth Affairs, the Arts and Sports, to review the legal and policy environment to better enable the regulatory and legal environment within the sector.
