- A glance into his official account with 329,000 followers shows that he wrote the last post on November 16, 2023 at 7.44pm.
- Cherargei has demanded a detailed report from ICT CS Eliud Owalo on the existing mechanisms of government action for Kenyans facing similar challenges.
Image: FILE
Nandi Senator Samson Cherargei has opened up on why he is no longer active on X, formerly Twitter.
Cherargei who was petitioning the Senate to investigate the management of social media platforms explained that he has been denied access to the account.
He threatened legal action against the company over "infringement of my ability to serve Kenyans and malicious actions that violate my freedom".
“I believe X Corporation’s, formerly Twitter, actions warrant an investigation by the Kenyan Government and this Parliament and require diplomatic engagement with the American government,” Cherargei said in a hard-hitting statement on the floor of the House.
A glance into his official account with 329,000 followers shows that he wrote the last post on November 16, 2023 at 7.44pm.
The post in which Cherargei conveyed condolences to family and friends of late the Apostle Dr Joe Kayo attracted 23,900 views.
Cherargei said efforts to reach the firm to recover access to the account have hit a snag as the firm has been unresponsive despite repeated emails and a formal demand letter.
"This silence equates to the muzzling of an important channel,” he said.
According to X rules, users can be banned if it is determined they have engaged in repeated violations of their policies and/or violated specific policies that cause significant risk to X.
Cherargei termed his inability to access his account "malicious actions [that] violate my freedom of speech and set a dangerous precedent".
Cherargei has demanded a detailed report from ICT CS Eliud Owalo on the existing mechanisms of government action and recourse for Kenyans facing similar challenges.
He also asked the CS to initiate formal communication with the X Corporation, "outlining the violation of Kenyan law and expressing strong condemnation of the action and discriminatory implications".
The lawmaker also wants Owalo to explore diplomatic channels with the American government and emphasise the need for multinational tech companies to operate ‘ethically and responsibly'.
“If a sitting senator can experience this, it raises questions about how Kenyan citizens and African citizens would be treated in similar circumstances. We cannot allow multinational corporations to operate with impunity,” he said.
Already, Cherargei has written to X Corporation threatening legal action.
Through lawyer Ian Mbotela, Cherargei, in the demand letter seen by the Star, wants immediate restoration of his access rights.
“Take notice, the undersigned herein is under strict instructions to use our partners to file a civil claim in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Carlifornia and seek for an award of damages,” the letter states.
The letter, dated February 8, 2024, is addressed to X Corp Chief Executive Officer, Linda Yaccaniro, and Head of Legal, Julian Moore.
“Through a Coordinated social engineering attack, on or about November 19, 2023, circa 11am, my client was forcefully logged out from your platform “X” rendering the “@scherargei” impervious to him,” the letter reads in part.