Several Kenyan celebrities have severed ties with Safaricom, the country’s largest telecom company, over allegations of internet censorship during protests against proposed tax hikes. The celebrities, composed of more than 10 influencers and artists, accused Safaricom of intentionally disrupting social media communications as police used live ammunition and tear gas on protesters, resulting in at least 30 deaths. Among these celebrities are Chef Dennis Ombachi and gospel artist Ben Cyco, both of whom announced they were terminating their partnerships with the company. Safaricom’s CEO, Peter Ndegwa, has since taken to social media to apologize for the network outage. He denied it was intentional and stated that it was the result of technical issues. However, internet observatory body Netblock stated that it hasn’t found any evidence of cable damage.
SOURCE: SEMAFOR