The High Court of Kenya declared the offence of criminal defamation under section 194 of the Kenyan Penal Code to be unconstitutional. Two Kenyan nationals were charged with criminal defamation for statements made on a Facebook page. They subsequently challenged the constitutionality of the offence, which carried the maximum penalty of two years' imprisonment. In a groundbreaking ruling, the High Court of Kenya declared that section 194 was unconstitutional as it was a disproportionate limitation on the right to freedom of expression. The Court concluded that the invocation of criminal defamation for the purpose of protecting a personal reputation was “clearly excessive and patently disproportionate” and that there was an alternative civil remedy for defamation.