Kenya’s digital transformation has created an economy that is driven by fintech, e-commerce and data innovation. But, behind the optimism of “Silicon Savannah,” technology has become a weapon in the hands of sexual predators.

A new policy brief by Equality Now, titled “Not Just Online: Addressing Sexual Exploitation and Abuse Across Digital and Physical Realities in Kenya,” shows how online sexual exploitation has outpaced the country’s laws.

The report warns that as Kenya’s digital economy surges, gaps in cybercrime enforcement and survivor protection threaten to undermine user trust and investor confidence.“Sexual exploitation and abuse increasingly occur across digital and physical spaces, with perpetrators using technology to facilitate, amplify and conceal harm,” the report says.

These crimes now thrive in encrypted chats, social-media and mobile-money platforms that are difficult to trace and regulate.

Kenya’s Sexual Offences Act (2006) and the Computer Misuse and Cybercrimes Act (2018) were pioneering when they were enacted. Neither of them anticipated the sophistication of modern digital exploitation, things like AI-generated deep fakes and the extortion of networks using cryptocurrency.

While the Acts criminalise cyber harassment and data misuse, they still treat online abuse as an extension of physical crime.

Mr Muiyuro says without adaptive policies, enforcement agencies are stuck chasing yesterday’s crimes while perpetrators innovate in real time.

Kenya’s National Computer and Cybercrimes Coordination Committee (NC4) was established under the 2018 Act to coordinate national cyber-response. But Mr Muiyuro says the system still struggles with integration across agencies.“We have strong laws on paper but weak operational synergy. NC4, the Communications Authority and law enforcement work in silos. When digital crimes occur, coordination delays evidence gathering and weakens prosecution,” he says.

He argues that poor inter-agency communication, overlapping mandates and resource shortages have created “a compliance theatre where systems look functional on paper but deliver little real-world impact”.

The Equality Now report says cases of digital exploitation often collapse due to inadequate preservation of evidence and lack of forensic expertise.“Survivors experience compounded harm when justice systems are fragmented, laws are outdated and cultural norms silence victims,” it states.

Handling digital evidence is a race against time since data can be deleted, encrypted or hosted abroad in seconds. Kenya is part of Mutual Legal Assistance Treaties (MLATs) that support cross-border data requests bureaucratic procedures make them slow.

The report calls for reforming cross-border cooperation and adopting frameworks like the Malabo Convention on Cybersecurity. It recommends that African states strengthen collaboration to ensure perpetrators do not hide behind jurisdictional gaps.

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