"Let foreigners know that Kenya is and remains a democratic country," President William Ruto said yesterday, citing phantom foreign interference in the recent Generation Z anti-government protests.
It is certainly a pertinent statement, especially looking at what is happening in other nations on the continent, especially Uganda's neighbours.
In fact, it was yesterday's news that a well-known 24-year-old Tiktoker, Edward Awenbwa, who is widely followed on the youth social platform par excellence, was sentenced to six years in prison for 'spreading misleading and harmful information' and 'inciting hatred' after insulting President Yoweri Museveni and his family on the social network.
Amwenbwa was accused of making 'vulgar comments' against the head of state and his son Muhoozi, whom Museveni recently promoted to head of the military, as well as on the First Lady.
The influencer did not dismiss the accusations, making it clear that it is a citizen's right to comment on current affairs and also on rulers. Think of the protests over the past weeks in Kenya and how many improper comments and insults have come from social media and the street.
In the eye of the storm are police compartments for lightning kidnappings and threats to 'content creators', but surely the judiciary is not allied with the government and maintains its independence, as the enquiries that will shed light on what happened have shown.
In Uganda, on the other hand, the court ruled that Awenbwa deserves a good six years in prison because he 'seems to have no remorse for his actions', as Magistrate Stellah-Maris Amabilisi stated, reading the sentence at the Entebbe court. It is no coincidence that non-governmental organisations have long been regularly denouncing attacks on human rights and freedom of expression in the country.