By Edwin Okoth |
From Tuesday, the government wants to be allowed to listen to your calls, read your text messages and review your mobile money transactions.
The government, through the Communications Authority of Kenya, has ordered mobile phone companies to allow it to tap their computers.
The tapping into these computers will be done by a company contracted by the agency.
Though the…
By Juliet Nanfuka |
An internet shutdown in the primarily Anglophone regions of north-west and south-west Cameroon is now in its 13th day. The shutdown was first initiated across the country on January 16 and on January 17, internet access was reinstated in the Francophone parts of the country. As of January 30, the blockage in the Anglophone regions including in key…
Open Letter |
On January 22, 2017, Civil Society Organizations from around the world sent the following open letter to The President of Cameroon, Minister of Posts and Telecommunications, and Minister of Communication, on ongoing Internet blackout in anglophone regions of the country.
Re: Internet Connectivity in the Republic of Cameroon
Your Excellencies,
We are writing to urgently request that you restore Internet access…
By Juliet Nanfuka |
In 2016, activism in Zimbabwe took on a new persona through various social media campaigns that also transformed into offline activity. In a move which critics believe is intended to suppress activism on social media, the national telecoms regulator known as the Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (Potraz) recently drove up internet access prices by up to 500% but…
By Arthur Gwagwa |
Internet shutdowns, carried out for stifling communications amongst protesters and dissenters, have become increasingly common in African countries during key political events, especially election periods. For example, in December 2016, both the Gambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) shutdown the Internet despite strong statements from the Keep It On campaign and other parties. Further, there was an…
GENEVA | A planned shutdown of social media in the Democratic Republic of the Congo from Sunday evening ahead of the end of President Joseph Kabila’s mandate, coupled with a continuing ban on demonstrations by civil society and the opposition, is deeply alarming, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein said Saturday.
“We are especially concerned as Monday…
Jamii Forums Founder, Maxence Melo has been charged with three offences before a court in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. The charges are:
1: Management of a domain not registered in Tanzania under Section 79(c) of the Electronic and Postal Communications Act (2010).
2: Obstruction of investigations under Section 22 (2) of the Cyber Crimes Act of 2015 for not complying with an…
By CIPESA Writer |
The police in Tanzania has detained Maxence Melo, a freedom of expression activist and co-founder of the popular online discussion platform, Jamii Forums. Although no charges have been brought against Melo, who was arrested at 1pm on Tuesday, December 13, his lawyer says the detention is an intimidation tactic on the backdrop of an ongoing case before…
Two journalists were arrested and one private radio station was closed on 9 July in Somalia.
The International Federation of Journalists and its affiliate the National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ) has called on the authorities to immediately free the journalists and lift the ban on City FM, a radio station in the Middle Shabelle region.
The regional administration ordered the arrest…
By Juliet Nanfuka |
Less than a week after the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council declared that online rights must be protected and condemned disruptions to internet access, citizens in Zimbabwe became the latest victims of online communications shut down. Authorities in Zimbabwe shut down communications in the wake of protests against rampant corruption and misuse of state funds by…