Participants at the Multi-Stakeholder Dialogue Forum hosted by the ORPP with support from the Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy-Kenya to discuss interventions to mitigate tech-based and online violence against women in politics on Wednesday / HANDOUT
Online abuse targeting women in politics has prompted fresh efforts to strengthen legal protections and political accountability ahead of Kenya's 2027 General Election.
The Office of the Registrar of Political Parties on Wednesday convened a meeting in Nairobi to examine ways to tackle technology-facilitated gender-based violence (TF-GBV).
The forum was held with support from the Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy.
In attendance were more than 40 representatives from government agencies, political parties, regulatory bodies, civil society organisations and digital media experts.
Registrar of Political Parties John Lorionokou said online abuse has become a broader societal challenge that requires collective action.
"The issues of GBV, TF-GBV and exclusion are not only electoral problems but also societal setbacks that need a collective approach to address," he said.
Lorionokou called for legal reforms and stronger internal party mechanisms to address technology-facilitated violence and online violence against women in politics.
"We need to establish frameworks and legal reforms aligned to the operations of political parties and incorporate issues around TF-GBV and OVAWP to exhaustively handle these pressing issues," he said.
The dialogue focused on strengthening regulatory oversight, improving digital reporting systems and promoting accountability in political parties ahead of the 2027 elections.
Research presented at the forum showed that political parties remain ill-prepared to address online violence targeting women.
According to the Westminster Foundation for Democracy, only members of ODM reported that their party conducted gender sensitivity and violence prevention training before the 2022 General Election.
An analysis by African Woman and Child Feature Services found that severe online harassment forced some women leaders to abandon their political careers. WhatsApp and Facebook were identified as the main platforms used to spread abuse, with 97.6 per cent of affected women reporting psychological and emotional harm.
The Federation of Women Lawyers documented 745 violent incidents involving female candidates across 14 counties between April and July 2022, with a further 157 cases reported around the election period. Verbal abuse, hate speech and cyberbullying accounted for most incidents.
Participants also highlighted major gaps in the justice system. Studies by KICTANet, the Office of the Auditor General and the National Gender and Equality Commission found weak coordination among institutions, inadequate training for law enforcement officers, limited technical capacity and delays in handling cases.
KICTANet's 2025 study further found that Kenya lacks a standalone law addressing technology-facilitated violence, leaving many victims without adequate protection.
Participants said strengthening laws, improving institutional coordination and holding political parties accountable will be critical to protecting women from online abuse and ensuring they can participate fully in the country's democratic processes ahead of the 2027 polls.
