Kenya's Creative Economy Bill: Mombasa forum and stakeholder memo raise licensing and take-down worries

Residents of Mombasa have asked for stronger safeguards in Kenya's Creative Economy Bill, 2026, at a public participation forum held at the Tononoka Social Centre, Sacco Review reported on 25 September 2026.

Psychologist and artist Sarah Tendwa questioned Clause 24(e) of the Bill, which provides for the take-down of prohibited content on social media, according to Sacco Review. She said the Bill should clearly define prohibited content to prevent ambiguity and potential misuse, and asked how creatives would be protected from "AI-powered deepfakes". Scriptwriter and creative artist Oscar Omondi urged stronger representation of industry stakeholders on relevant boards and warned that multiple licensing requirements could raise the cost of doing business in the sector.

Sacco Review names Sports and Culture Committee chair Dan Wanyama as the Bill's sponsor. K24 Digital, which writes his name as Daniel Wanyama, says he is the Webuye West MP and sponsor. Committee vice-chairperson Githua Wamacukuru, the Kabete MP, assured participants that their views would be considered as the committee processes the proposed law, Sacco Review reported.

The Bill is not law. K24 Digital says it requires public participation and parliamentary debate before it can become law.

What the Bill does

The Bill would create two main bodies: the Kenya Audio-Visual and Cinema Commission, to promote the industry, and the Kenya Audio-Visual Regulatory Authority, to regulate it. K24 says the Authority would oversee licensing for production, distribution and streaming operations and would have enforcement powers including fines and content-removal orders. The Bill would also set up the Kenya School of Film and Creative Arts. A summary on the BAKE blog says it would repeal the Films and Stage Plays Act, create a Creative Industry Development Fund and a mandatory Register of Creatives, and transfer the assets and liabilities of the Film Commission and the Film Classification Board to the new bodies.

A stakeholder memorandum

NewsTrendsKE has reported on a memorandum from the Creative Economy Working Group, submitted to the State Department for Creative Economy, which calls the Bill "heavily weighted toward institutional control rather than economic enablement". Fica News found no second outlet reporting the memorandum, and the NewsTrendsKE page does not say when it was submitted. On 3 October the page's own timestamp read "5 months ago", so this may not be new.

According to NewsTrendsKE, the group welcomed the Bill's broader intent, including the proposed repeal of the colonial-era Films and Stage Plays Act. But it says musicians, theatre practitioners, visual artists, fashion designers, writers and digital creators are left without a clear promotional home. Alex Gakuru, director of the Center for Law in Information Technology (Claw-IT), made a similar argument in HapaKenya on 4 May 2026: "Every shilling budgeted, every officer employed, every regulation flows toward one destination: the screen."

Other points attributed to the memorandum by NewsTrendsKE:

• Clause 5(2) excludes intellectual property rights from the Bill's scope. The group argues this undermines the creative economy because music, film, fashion, literature, performance and digital content derive much of their economic value from copyright, licensing, royalties and image rights.
• Without revenue or user thresholds, ordinary creators could be treated as unlicensed operators.
• The Bill allows works to be classified or restricted on grounds including morality and cultural considerations. The group says these terms are too vague and could be used to suppress political satire, religious critique, LGBTQ+ narratives or experimental art.
• The Bill allows take-downs, but stakeholders say it does not require prior notice, written reasons or a counter-notice process.
• The Bill relies too heavily on existing funding arrangements connected to the Sports and Arts Fund. The group proposes a Creative Economy Development Fund with dedicated sources.
• The Bill is silent on artificial intelligence.

The group is calling for a structured technical review involving musicians, visual artists, theatre practitioners, digital content creators, fashion designers and animators before the Bill proceeds further.