Data processors and controllers from Tharaka Nithi County were privileged to learn about their obligations under the Data Protection Act to enable them to comply with the law.
Speaking during a sensitization forum held in a Chuka resort, the head of a delegation from the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner, Ms. Susan Waweru, said data processors and controllers need to be sensitized that they are supposed to comply with the law.
She further explained that residents need to be informed that the protection of their data is their responsibility.
“Data yao ni jukumu lao,” Ms. Waweru said in Kiswahili, further explaining that the locals need to be sensitive to what information they are releasing to the public, especially in this day and age of social media. “They need to be aware of their rights,” she added.
During the event, Ms. Waweru explained the mandate of the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner, revealing that the commission was created in 2020 under the Data Protection Act, 2019.
She said the functions of the commission include promotion of self-regulation, registration of data controllers and processors, and investigation and inspection of data.
Karanja Jackson, a representative from the Media Council of Kenya explained that as the council, they ensure that the information provided by the media is guided by the Media Act 2013.
Presiding over the event Chuka Deputy County Commissioner Nkanduda Hiribae emphasized the importance of realizing that “the data we share on social media and on our mobile money transactions can be used negatively against us.”
This sensitization forum comes in handy during a time when some unscrupulous data processors and controllers have used their privileged positions to collect data and later use it for character assassination or to intimidate victims into fraudulent transactions and high profile corruption.
Suffice it that, the president clearly stated that even intelligence organs have no right to hack and abuse personal data to intimidate any law abiding Kenyan citizen.
By David Mutwiri and Ruth Mumbe
