Dr Kimunguyi stressed that effective governance, risk management and cybersecurity were essential to ensuring emerging technologies served the public interest.
"The communications Authority reported that Kenya detected more than eleven billion cyber threats in the last financial year , and criminals are increasingly using artificial intelligence to make their attacks more convincing," he said.
He warned that cloned voices and fabricated videos could undermine public confidence and expose institutions to financial losses, describing cybersecurity as a national security matter .
Dr Kimunguyi said the government had established the National cybersecurity Agency to coordinate the country's cybersecurity strategy, manage incident responses and protect critical information infrastructure.
He also highlighted the Kenya National Artificial Intelligence Strategy 2025 -2030, launched in 2025 , which focuses on digital Infrastructure,data , research and Innovation, alongside governance, talent development, investment and ethics .
He added that the cabinet has established a standing Cabinet Committee on Artificial Intelligence, while the draft Kenya Artificial Intelligence and other Emerging Technologies policy had been opened to public participation.
The Auditor-General noted that the computer Misuse and Cybercrimes Act provides legal tools to address phishing , identity theft , SIM-swap fraud and other Cybercrimes affecting ordinary Kenya's.
He further said the office of the Data protection Commissioner was developing guidance on AI and privacy under the Data protection Act to strengthen the production of personal Information.
The government was also laying thousands of Kilometers of fiber-optic cable and adopting digital servers to adopt and secure citizen's data .Dr Kimunguyi observed that AI was increasingly influencing decisions in financial services, healthcare and public service delivery. He said Institutions must be able to explain automated decisions and address errors when they occur.
He urged auditors to adopt continuous assurance practices to test the accuracy and reliability of AI models. He also called on boards and executives to establish clear oversight mechanisms to ensure AI systems were used responsibly.
Dr Kimunguyi called upon cybersecurity professionals to monitor emerging threats and report incidents promptly and called for closer collaboration among government, the private sector, academia and professional associations.
Boniface Asiligwa, ISACA's Kenya chapter president, said the quick adoption of AI was outpacing legal , regulatory and governance frameworks, exposing organisations to new risks .
"The main challenge is not AI itself, but the widening gap between the rapid adoption of technology and the slower evolution of governance, legal and regulatory frameworks, and organisational capabilities,"he said .
He said autonomous AI agents can now gather Information, make decisions and execute tasks with limited human intervention, whereas traditional governance systems often rely on human oversight at every stage . He added that Kenya and Africa face heightened risk because of growing internet use and uptake of AI tools and called for strong legal frameworks , noting that 55 per cent of cyber-related threats were in Africa.
Asiligwa called upon African Countries to develop their own AI technologies and governance frameworks reflecting local social and economic realities and asked professionals to assess whether existing frameworks were adequate without stifling innovation.
He added that organisations must define the authority delegated to AI systems and set limits so that humans remain responsible for outcomes . Asiligwa went ahead and dismissed fears that AI would automatically eliminate jobs, noting that AI is a tool that will enable people to work better , work smarter and work more efficiently and faster.
Principal consultant at ISSEC Inc, a global organisation on technology, called for greater collaborations to mitigate growing risks linked to AI tools and agents .
Continue reading
More stories selected for youYou may also like
Category: Technology
Related Video: What Dangote’s proposed Lamu oil refinery could mean for East Africa
Facebook
Twitter / X
WhatsApp
LinkedIn
Telegram
Reddit