The petitioners (two Ethiopian Nationals; Abrham Meareg and Fisseha Tekle) and Katiba Institute filed a Petition dated 14th December 2022 challenging the respondent’s (Global Witness) failure to regulate the Facebook platform by allowing the posting of inciteful, hateful and dangerous content and failing to take them down.

The Petitioners, on 14 December 2022, filed an application seeking empanelment of a bench to resolve the substantive questions of law raised in the Petition. Justice Mugambi, certifying the Petition for empanelment of a bench by the Honourable Chief Justice in his ruling delivered on 3 April 2025, found that the Petition raises weighty constitutional questions, namely:

i. Protection of human rights in the age of Artificial Intelligence (AI), particularly where the use of AI in social media platforms results in human rights violations; hence, to what extent, if any, social media platforms acting as intermediaries should be held accountable.

ii. Whether there is intentional algorithmic bias and discriminatory AI for different geographical regions.

iii. The constitutional jurisdiction of this Court concerning digital decisions made in Kenya with a broader reach on violations of human rights in other jurisdictions and vice versa.

The Respondents filed an application dated 18 September 2023 to strike out the petition as the Court lacked jurisdiction. Justice Mugambi dismissed this application, finding that the Petition raises pertinent issues deserving of serious consideration by the Court and that the doctrine of constitutional avoidance does not oust the Court’s jurisdiction.

Download the ruling here