Outspoken political activist Morara Kebaso has accused government-aligned forces of orchestrating a widespread online smear campaign against him, alleging that thousands of young bloggers were paid to destroy his reputation. The campaign, he claimed, was a direct response to his growing influence and his work exposing stalled government projects.

The core of this issue, according to Kebaso, is the potent effect his activism was having on public opinion. His online series, dubbed "Vampire Diaries," which documented suspected misappropriation of public funds in multi-billion shilling state projects, had gained significant traction. This, he asserts, triggered a well-funded operation to silence him by attacking his credibility, particularly his method of fundraising from the public to fuel his travels across the country.

“When the government saw the impact of the Vampire Diaries in exposing theft of public money, they hired thousands of my fellow youth as bloggers to destroy my reputation,” Kebaso stated in a post on X (formerly Twitter). He identified his fundraising appeals as the primary target of the attacks, which sought to paint him as a "conman, a beggar and a swindler."

A Pattern of Digital Repression

Kebaso's allegations land in a climate of increasing concern over digital repression in Kenya. A recent report by Amnesty International, titled “This Fear, Everyone is Feeling It,” details the use of state-linked blogger networks, referred to as the “527 bloggers,” to run coordinated online attacks against vocal activists. The human rights group noted that these networks are tasked with spreading disinformation, drowning out protest hashtags, and framing activists as “foreign agents” or “liars.” An influencer interviewed by Amnesty admitted to being part of a network paid between KES 25,000 and KES 50,000 per day to push pro-government narratives.

The emotional toll of such campaigns is severe. Kebaso confessed the constant trolling led him to depression and forced him to step back from politics. “I had to leave my family WhatsApp group. I stopped going to church because I felt the world saw me as a fraud,” he lamented, describing how the attacks dragged his “reputation and integrity through the sewer line.”

The Activist's Rocky Path

Morara Kebaso rose to national prominence through his relentless, on-the-ground investigations of state projects, a venture that has put him at odds with authorities. His activism has led to legal challenges, including an arrest in September 2024 and subsequent charges of cyber harassment for comments made about a prominent businessman, charges his legal team argued were politically motivated. This history forms the backdrop to his claims of a targeted, state-sanctioned campaign to discredit him.

• Activism Focus: Inspecting and exposing stalled or non-existent government projects funded by taxpayers.
• Key Series: "Vampire Diaries," a social media series documenting his findings across numerous counties.
• Legal Troubles: Arrested and charged under the Computer Misuse and Cybercrimes Act.
• Political Foray: Briefly formed the INJECT party before quitting politics, citing online harassment.

While government officials have not directly responded to Kebaso's latest allegations, the documented findings by rights groups like Amnesty International lend significant weight to claims of a hostile online environment for government critics. The situation highlights a critical battleground for Kenyan democracy: the fight for truth and accountability on digital platforms, where narratives can be weaponized to silence dissent. For many young Kenyans looking for a foothold in the national discourse, Kebaso's experience serves as a cautionary tale of the price of speaking truth to power.