The Kenyan National Assembly passed amendments on August 19, 2026, designed to protect corporations from legal challenges over working conditions, a move that directly follows President William Ruto's promise to a major outsourcing firm facing worker lawsuits. This legislative action, awaiting presidential assent, effectively shields capital from accountability for labor exploitation.
The State's Role in Suppressing Labor
The dispute began four years ago in May 2022, when former Facebook content moderator Daniel Motaung sued Sama and Meta over working conditions. Three years ago, in March 2023, another 43 moderators brought a similar case. The Court of Appeal rejected Meta’s argument that Kenyan courts lacked jurisdiction over the foreign company two years ago, on September 20, 2024. Less than two months later, on November 11, 2024, the Business Laws (Amendment) Bill was published. President Ruto, on December 9, 2024, publicly stated, after Sama had approached him about its legal troubles: “Now I can report to you that we have changed the law,” adding that “nobody will take you to court again on any matter.” Workers attempted to stop the bill, but the high court declined to intervene in June 2026. The National Assembly then passed the amendments in August 2026, cementing the state's alignment with corporate interests.
Digital Market Penetration and Resource Extraction
Beyond legal protections for corporations, Kenya has become a central site for “hidden and often opaque dealings” between the government and major technology companies. Since 2023, at least 12 publicly documented meetings, agreements, regulatory engagements, and partnerships have occurred involving the Kenyan government and Microsoft, Google, Amazon, TikTok, and Starlink. These arrangements facilitate the expansion of digital finance and corporate control. Absa, for instance, aims to grow its personal and private banking business, focusing on technology and “customer-centered services.” Sitoyo Lopokoiyit, Absa’s CEO of personal and private banking, noted the bank's active digital customer base grew 14% year on year to 5.4 million in the six months to end-June this year. He identified Africa’s 900 million adults, only 30% of whom have a bank account, as “unpenetrated opportunities” in township and rural economies. Absa's overall IT-related costs rose 7% in the period to R8.779bn, signaling significant investment in this digital expansion. The bank plans to shift from large, costly branches to “differentiated points of presence” suited to a more digital customer base, further streamlining its operations for profit.
Corporate Control Over Public Resources
Microsoft signed an agreement with Kenya’s ministry of agriculture in 2020 to use technology for farming and food security. This partnership expanded in 2022 when AGRA joined Microsoft on a digital agriculture program that included Agribot, known as Kuzabot. Kuzabot can send product recommendations and allows agricultural advisers linked to seed, fertilizer, and pesticide companies to advertise through bulk messages, effectively turning public agricultural infrastructure into a corporate advertising platform. Kenya now plans a national platform for agricultural information and data through the Kenya Agricultural Data, Information and Digital Policy, further centralizing control over vital resources. In August 2026, the government authority running Konza Technopolis signed an MoU with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to expand cloud technology in public institutions and provide training. While AWS stated the MoU carries no financial commitment and does not cover the government’s use of AWS cloud services, it represents a strategic foothold for a major tech giant within the state's digital infrastructure.
Digital rights lawyer Victor Kiamba highlighted that Kenya’s constitution requires public procurement to be “fair, equitable, transparent, competitive and cost-effective.” Digital rights expert Irene Makau warned that legislation and agreements can combine to ease corporate operations. Human rights lawyer Ibrahim Oduor stressed that Kenya’s Data Protection Act should govern such MoUs and that a data protection impact assessment should precede their signing. These warnings underscore the systemic risks of unchecked corporate influence and the state's role in facilitating it.