Over the years, many African governments have resolved to
censor a variety of apps and sites, especially around election time.
The organisation, its latest report, states that internet
surveillance has been instituted in, for instance, Zambia and Zimbabwe to
target and persecute prominent civic society leaders, opposition leaders and
other dissenting voices.
The report titled: Digital Rights are Human Rights: An
introduction to the state of affairs and challenges in Africa, FesMedia, a
subsidiary of Friedrich Ebert-Stiftung in Africa said a large chunk of African
countries were repressive with regards to internet access.
“In sub-Saharan Africa, 495 million people (46% of the
population) subscribed to mobile phones in 2020, however, the cost of accessing
the internet is very high and many African governments are renowned for
restricting access to the internet to limit critics and their opposition
through internet shutdowns, especially ahead of elections,” the report read.
“There is widespread government surveillance in many
countries in Africa without sufficient legal basis. In Zimbabwe, for example,
the interception of private communications is permitted without a warrant
issued by a court; instead, the Transport and Communication minister has the
power to order such surveillance.”
The report said authoritarian governments in a number of
African countries have blocked or filtered citizens’ access to the internet for
various periods of time, and for very similar reasons, usually the protection
of ‘national security’.
“Technically, this is relatively easy for governments to
do: not by pushing their own ‘stop’ button, but by ordering internet service
providers to suspend internet connectivity as a whole or block certain websites
or apps, for example, the Zimbabwean government ordered the largest
telecommunications company in the country to shut down all internet services.
“The surveillance of internet communications seems to be a
considerable temptation for some African governments again because it is such
an easy and effective way to keep track of the mood and concerns of the people,
especially those critical of the government,” the report added.
Zimbabwe continues to experience extensive gagging of
critical voices that call for transparency and accountability. Newsday
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