NAIROBI, July 28 (Xinhua) -- Kenya's vibrant social media users could soon go mute as the government intensifies crackdown of what it considers hate speech ahead of the Aug. 8 polls.
These include fake news, threats against communities and tribal hatred, messages the government noted may help fan animosity and even violence before, during or after polls.
Social media users in the East African nation are therefore caught between a rock and a hard place, with majority having to look twice at what they write before posting on the sites.
"These are difficult times because you do not know who is watching. Ever since the government warned the public, I have found myself deleting political messages I was meant to post on Facebook," Bernard Mutua, a university student and an ardent opposition supporter in Nairobi said Friday, as his sentiments captured the predicament of thousands of other users.
He noted that sometimes he makes posts but he is forced to delete them for fear of reprisal by authorities.
Social media conversations in Kenya are divided along the two major political players in Kenya namely President Uhuru Kenyatta and his main challenger in the August 8 polls Raila Odinga.
"If it's necessary, then some social media would be shut down," said acting Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiangi recently.
On Friday, the Communication Authority of Kenya (CA) and the National Cohesive and Integration Commission (NCIC) said that there was increased use of social media sites to propagate hate.
"As the 2017 elections approach, the attention of the two agencies has been drawn to the misuse of electronic communication networks particularly social media to propagate hate speech and other undesirable content," said Francis Wangusi, the director-general of the CA and NCIC chairman Francis ole Kaparo in a statement.
The two noted that hate messages on social media have the potential to polarize the country along tribal lines and to perpetuate hate and fear.
The statement said the government had identified and flagged out at least 176 social media accounts involved in propagating hate speech.
"The commission warns the administrators of all social media sites that they would be liable for any hate speech on their platforms," said Wangusi and Kaparo, adding 31 cases are under prosecution in various courts across the country.
According to the NCIC Act 2008, anyone who contravenes the law is liable for a fine 9,708 U.S. dollars or imprisonment of three years.
Similarly, offences of ethnic contempt or racial discrimination will attract a fine of 9,708 dollars or imprisonment of five years or both.
"Bloggers, online news sites, political leaders and their followers should exercise discretion during the electioneering period," said the statement.
However, the electoral commission last week said in Nairobi that it relies on electronic data transmission and web portal to relay, announce and display election results, thus, a shutdown would affect its work.
Kenya has over 7 million social media users both on Facebook and Twitter, according to estimates by Social Bakers, majority of which are aged between 18-24 and 25-34 years.
Twitter users in Kenya are on the rise standing at between 1.4 and 2.1 million while on Facebook, there are about 5 million users, according to estimates.
Research has put Kenya at number four in Africa among countries whose citizens tweeted most last year, with 76 million geo-located tweets.
Odinga, the Opposition candidate, has opposed the gag on social media users noting the platforms enhance freedom of expression.
