Kenyan Celebrities Cut Ties with Safaricom Over Protest Censorship Allegations

Several Kenyan celebrities have ended their partnerships with Safaricom, the nation’s largest telecom company. They allege it disrupted internet access during protests against proposed tax hikes.

More than ten social media influencers and artists accused Safaricom of blocking social media communications last week.

During the protests, Kenyan police used live ammunition and tear gas on hundreds of demonstrators. Kenya’s rights watchdog reported at least 30 deaths.

Public outcry has led to a campaign to boycott Safaricom, viewed by many as a government tool. Musicians announced plans to pull their content from Safaricom’s Skiza Tune platform.

This platform provides personalized ring-back tones for Safaricom customers, generating 30% of their income for musicians.

Celebrity chef Dennis Ombachi stated that Safaricom’s values no longer align with his. Gospel artist Ben Cyco will remove his music from Skiza.

Influencer Mike Muchiri ended his long-term collaboration, accusing Safaricom of abandoning the people it should support.

Safaricom CEO Peter Ndegwa apologized on X for last Tuesday’s network outage. He denied deliberate disruption, blaming reduced bandwidth on some internet cables.

Ndegwa also denied that Safaricom shared citizens’ data with the government, allegedly leading to activist abductions.

Safaricom cited an outage on two undersea cables as the cause, claiming redundancy measures minimized interruptions.

However, global internet observatory NetBlocks found no physical subsea cable damage and reported a greater disruption impact than usual.

SpaceX founder Elon Musk responded to the public outcry by announcing the launch of the launch of the Starlink Mini for Kenya at half the standard terminal price later this year.

Kenya’s satellite internet usage grew 64% in the first quarter with Starlink‘s entry, as many sought affordable, disruption-proof alternatives.

Kenya’s Internet Freedom Struggle

Proton VPN reported a 1200% spike in signups following reports of government-imposed internet restrictions. The surge in VPN usage reflects the public’s desire for uncensored internet access.

The move by influencers and artists to sever ties with Safaricom shows a strong resistance against corporate complicity in government censorship.

Kenya has a history of strained relations with the internet and mainstream media during political crises.

In 2018, the government shut down three TV stations attempting to broadcast an opposition leader’s swearing-in ceremony.

This decision was later overturned by the top court. Last week, KTN News reported threats from authorities over protest coverage.

Social media has become essential for citizen-led journalism, providing real-time, unfiltered views and organizing protests.

Despite government denials of involvement in internet disruptions, the protests, organized mainly on TikTok and X, have clearly unsettled the political establishment.

In short, these protests forced the government to withdraw the controversial finance bill.