A storm is brewing following the arrest of Rose Njeri, a 35-year-old Kenyan website developer, who is facing charges under the Computer Misuse and Cybercrimes Act after allegedly creating a platform that allowed citizens to reject specific clauses in the controversial 2025 Finance Bill.
According to the charge sheet, Njeri is accused of “unauthorised interference with computer systems” after allegedly developing a web application hosted at https://civicemail.netlify.app, which auto-sent emails to official Parliament addresses, including those of the Finance Committee and the Clerk of the National Assembly.
Authorities claim this interfered with the “normal functioning” of Parliament’s communication systems.
She was arrested on Friday, May 31, in what witnesses described as a violent and dramatic operation involving three Subaru vehicles and police sirens that startled her neighborhood.
According to family members, Njeri was manhandled during the arrest, her phone and laptop were confiscated, and she suffered injuries to her arm.
Njeri has now spent two nights in police custody after being denied bail on Saturday.
Her mother, Naomi Njoki, and aunt Eva Waithera, say she has a medical condition—chronic anaemia—that makes police cells unsafe for her.
Human rights activists and digital rights advocates have condemned the arrest as a crackdown on civic expression.
As of Tuesday morning, calls for her immediate release continue to mount, with legal teams preparing to challenge the charges in court.
