Cybercrime in Kenya is prevalent than perceived and/or reported. Unknown to many, cybercrime cases have always been a menace in Kenya. For several years now.
The concerned authorities tasked to fight the vice have virtually lost the battle but what remains to be seen is the outcome of the war.
The recently signed cybercrime bill could not come at a better time seeing that the crime rate has gone up over the past five years. In the context of child pornography, the bill put parents on notice especially those who share photo’s that could be interpreted as pornographic material.
According to this Act, anyone found guilty of sharing child pornography over the internet will face a maximum fine of Sh20 million or a maximum jail term of 25 years. This law will apply to parents found sharing photos of their children’s genitals or their naked bodies on social media.
But, parents are not the only potential perpetrators of child porn:
There is the other category of criminals who are fascinated by child pornography. They will share pornographic photos of children on the internet without shame. It’s disgusting. Visiting foreign nationals have been known to take sexual advantage of innocent children in third world countries. Cases of sexual exploitation of children have been rampant especially those from poor families, those living in children’s homes, or marginalized areas.
The good news is that their time is up. Well, almost.
Kenya may soon be able to nab these pedophiles if the promise made by the UK will be kept. Britain’s Prime Minister Theresa May who is on a tour in Nigeria, South Africa, and Kenya has pledged to build a new cyber station in Kenya’s capital, Nairobi.
This centre will be used by local authorities to help locate internet-using British nationals that are sexually attracted to/or sexually abuse children otherwise known as pedophiles.
This facility will, in essence, help concerned authorities to counter the sharing of child abuse photographs on the internet. It will also be equipped with tools that will also help in identifying potential victims in a timely manner to counter further abuse.
That’s not all:
It is said that the facility will make use of data from other tech firms to nab offenders.
Speaking on this vice, the Prime Minister noted that online child exploitation is a loathsome crime and stressed the need to ensure that perpetrators are brought to book. In the same breath, she promised that Britain is determined to ensure predators who use the internet to share images of abuse across borders are nabbed and punished.
The facility should be on its toes as soon as possible seeing that security pact has already been signed.
We look forward to the upgrade and to having child porn criminals nabbed.
Good initiative