Kenya is preparing to establish a 24/7 contact system for urgent requests involving electronic evidence as it moves to fast-track plans to join the Budapest Convention on Cybercrime.

🇰🇪 Breaking It Down

According to James Kimuyu, the Director of the National Computer and Cybercrimes Co-ordination Committee (NC4), the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) will serve as the round-the-clock contact point, allowing authorities to act quickly when digital evidence risks being deleted or lost.

During a parliamentary committee meeting on Tuesday, October 6, officials told Members of Parliament that the usual diplomatic process can take too long in cases requiring urgent preservation of electronic evidence, though the Attorney-General’s Office would remain responsible for mutual legal assistance and extradition.

The Budapest Convention is an international treaty that seeks to harmonise laws on computer-related crime and strengthen cooperation between countries in investigating cybercrime, preserving electronic evidence and pursuing offenders across borders.

📌 What You Need to Know

Kenya was invited to join the convention in 2024, and Parliament is now considering the treaty alongside its accompanying memorandum as the government moves to accelerate the process.

Under the proposed arrangement, foreign authorities seeking electronic information held in Kenya would have to use established mutual legal assistance channels rather than obtain direct access.

Officials under the Ministry of Interior said the country would assess requests from other countries against its own laws, including whether the conduct in question amounts to an offence in Kenya.

However, MPs emphasised that enhanced international cooperation should not violate constitutional protections , particularly the right to privacy.

Lawmakers warned against using cybercrime measures to facilitate unlawful surveillance, citing the Cambridge Analytica controversy, where Facebook users’ personal data was collected and used for political purposes. They also raised concerns over previous cases of digital surveillance.

MPs also raised concerns over competition between government agencies, with disagreements between the Interior and ICT ministries over their respective roles affecting efforts to combat cybercrime.

📰 Source: Kenyans.co.ke