The Communications Authority of Kenya (CA), the country’s communication regulatory body has ordered the suspension of Telegram in the country and this has led to lose of access to the messaging platform both on the its official Android, iOS, desktop apps and its website.
The past few days, Telegram users in the country have had a hard time accessing the messaging platform with messages not going through and it was unclear why this was happening with various rumors online.
The ICT regulator revealed that government agencies have requested assistance in removing social media channels, including Telegram, disrupting national exams. It criticized Telegram for remaining unresponsive and hosting violating forums, despite other platforms addressing misuse, and for breaching local laws and data protection principles.
The authority states that Telegram is being misused for criminal activities, including undermining national exams, which led to its suspension and user inconvenience.
In a letter seen by TechTrends Media, the CA has directed Mobile Network Operators to suspend Telegram’s operation in Kenya during KCSE exams, from 7:00-10:00 a.m. and 1:00-4:00 p.m., Monday to Friday, until November 22, 2024. The letter was addressed to Peter Ndegwa (Safaricom CEO), Ashish Malhotra (Airtel Kenya MD), Mugo Kibati (Telkom Kenya CEO), and Joshua (Jamii Telecommunications Chairman & CEO).
A simple way to bypass this restriction is by using VPN apps or extensions. VPNs encrypt your internet traffic and mask your IP address, enhancing privacy by hiding your location and routing traffic through secure servers.
We recommend paid VPNs like ExpressVPN, Surfshark, NordVPN, and ProtonVPN. Of these, ProtonVPN is the best free, open-source option.
Once the VPN is active, you can use Telegram as usual.
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