Parliament has approved the National Cybersecurity Agency Order, 2026, clearing the way for Kenya to establish an autonomous body to coordinate national cybersecurity policy, operations and enforcement across government, private operators and critical infrastructure providers. The agency, created under the State Corporations Act through an order issued by President William Ruto, will become a body corporate tasked with preventing, detecting and responding to cyber incidents as Kenya’s reliance on digital systems grows. The new agency will manage the National Cybersecurity Operations Centre, oversee sector-based cybersecurity units, audit critical infrastructure and issue technical advisories on emerging threats. It will also establish a Cybersecurity Centre of Excellence to support research, innovation and skills development in cyber defence, while working with security agencies, regulators, academia and industry players to improve standards and information sharing. Its board will include representatives from internal security, the National Treasury, ICT authorities, police, intelligence, the military, the Attorney-General, the Director of Public Prosecutions, academia and the private sector. The more consequential question is not whether Kenya needs a stronger cybersecurity capability, but whether the new agency can maintain enough institutional independence to distinguish genuine cyber threats from political discomfort. Around the world, cybersecurity powers have at times expanded beyond protecting networks to policing speech, monitoring dissent and restricting digital spaces during periods of political tension, often under the broad justification of national security. Kenya's digital economy depends on trust as much as technology, and that trust could be eroded if businesses, journalists, civil society groups, or ordinary citizens come to view cybersecurity enforcement as a tool for surveillance or selective pressure rather than protection. The concentration of security agencies, intelligence services and law enforcement bodies within the NCSA's governance structure makes transparency, judicial oversight, and clear accountability mechanisms more than administrative details; they are safeguards against mission creep.