Less than two months after a Kenyan court rejected Meta's argument against jurisdiction in a labor dispute, President William Ruto's government published a bill to rewrite outsourcing laws, explicitly shielding corporations from worker lawsuits. The Business Laws (Amendment) Bill, published on November 11, 2024, proposed new rules for Kenya’s outsourcing industry, including provisions dealing with who should carry responsibility for workers employed by outsourcing companies. This legislative action followed a September 20, 2024, Court of Appeal ruling that denied Meta’s attempt to remove itself from litigation, where it had argued Kenyan courts lacked jurisdiction over the foreign company.
The dispute began in May 2022 when former Facebook content moderator Daniel Motaung sued Sama and Meta over working conditions. Another 43 moderators brought a similar case in March 2023. These workers, employed by Sama to moderate Facebook content, reported repeatedly viewing disturbing material. They argued that Meta, which ultimately benefited from and controlled aspects of their work, should also be held responsible for their conditions.
The State's Role in Corporate Protection
President William Ruto publicly acknowledged Sama’s legal troubles on December 9, 2024. "Now I can report to you that we have changed the law," he stated, adding that "nobody will take you to court again on any matter." This declaration came while the bill was still before parliament. Business groups, including KEPSA and the Kenya Association of Manufacturers, advocated that responsibility should largely remain with the outsourcing company, aligning with the bill's intent. Tech workers, conversely, argued that companies controlling or benefiting from their labor should share responsibility.
Workers attempted to halt the bill through legal channels. In June 2026, the high court declined to intervene. The National Assembly passed the amendments on August 19, 2026, and the bill now awaits presidential assent. Former content moderator James Oyange observed that Ruto’s statement clearly indicated the government’s allegiance. "We are on our own. It is the responsibility of the government to protect us, but they are taking Big Tech’s side. It means the companies can do what they want," Oyange said.
Expanding Corporate Capture of Public Services
The Sama case is part of a broader pattern of Kenya’s government integrating global technology companies into public services, infrastructure, and policymaking. An investigation found at least 12 publicly documented meetings, agreements, regulatory engagements, and partnerships between the Kenyan government and Microsoft, Google, Amazon, TikTok, and Starlink since 2023. These arrangements often occur through agreements hidden from public view, while laws and policies are simultaneously developed to facilitate these corporations' operations.
Agriculture provides a clear example of this corporate capture. In 2020, the ministry of agriculture signed an agreement with Microsoft to use technology for farming and food security. Microsoft was to provide cloud technology for digital tools. The partnership expanded in 2022 when AGRA joined Microsoft on a digital agriculture program, which included Agribot, known as Kuzabot, a service offering farmers advice via SMS and WhatsApp. The Community Alliance for Global Justice’s 2023 report on Microsoft and AGRA’s digital farming projects revealed Kuzabot could send product recommendations and allow agricultural advisers linked to seed, fertilizer, and pesticide companies to advertise through bulk messages. Microsoft’s agricultural cloud infrastructure was described as an "all-in-one platform" designed to consolidate agricultural services and data. Kenya now plans to centralize its fragmented farming data and digital services onto one national platform, following years of private technology partnerships whose full terms remain largely undisclosed. Neither Microsoft nor the ministry provided the full agreement upon request.
Research published by the Heinrich Böll Foundation warns that digital farming platforms can draw farmers into systems shaped by technology companies, agribusinesses, and philanthropic organizations. This creates new markets for seeds, pesticides, insurance, and credit, built on information farmers provide about themselves and their farms. AGRA, a key player in shaping agricultural policy across the continent, receives major funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundation. The Gates Foundation also held Microsoft shares until early 2026.
By 2026, Kenya’s ministry of agriculture drafted the Kenya Agricultural Data, Information and Digital Policy, aiming to create a national platform for agricultural information and data. Human rights lawyer Ibrahim Oduor noted that Kenya’s Data Protection Act should govern these MoUs, but cloud-first strategies complicate this, as Microsoft Azure relies on global or regional data centers potentially outside Kenya. Oduor emphasized that a data protection impact assessment should precede such agreements.
Hidden Deals and Lack of Oversight
The same pattern extends to Konza Technopolis, Kenya’s flagship smart city. In August 2026, the government authority running Konza signed an MoU with Amazon Web Services to expand cloud technology use in public institutions and provide training in data, artificial intelligence, and machine learning. AWS stated it was proud to support Kenya’s cloud adoption, clarifying the MoU covers cloud skills and adoption initiatives but "does not cover the Kenyan government’s use of any AWS cloud services and carries no financial commitment." This statement obscures the deeper integration of corporate infrastructure into public systems.
Business Day attempted to investigate oversight of these relationships. More than a dozen opposition representatives, including members of parliamentary committees for agriculture, ICT, and labor, were contacted. None agreed to explain parliament's oversight. Government departments and agencies did not provide requested agreements or explain partner selection. The technology companies did not respond to questions. Digital rights lawyer Victor Kiamba highlighted that Kenya’s constitution requires public procurement to be "fair, equitable, transparent, competitive and cost-effective." He stated that without agreement scrutiny, meeting these requirements is difficult to establish. Digital rights expert Irene Makau argued these agreements cannot be separated from the surrounding laws and policies. She noted that seemingly unrelated legislative changes, when combined, facilitate ease of operation for these corporations. Makau also questioned Kenya’s growing reliance on a few global technology companies, asking why local companies cannot compete. "Why are these Big Tech companies being glorified as though we have options?" she asked. "Why can’t the same be done here? Here, where [Kenya] is apparently the home of innovation, yet we are being trained only to work for and with monopolies."