Violations

Young Activist Flees Gambia after Posting Video of Police Assault

By Stanley Azuakola,
An activist Aminata Manneh (also known as Minah Manneh), who champions women and children’s rights is reportedly out of the country after she went missing for 48 hours.
Manneh’s disappearance occurred after she posted a video on her Facebook page, of a policeman beating a young girl with a stick which went viral last week.

The activist took wrote a Facebook post saying she…

Keriako Tobiko and NCIC want Moses Kuria Prosecuted for Hate Speech and Incitement

In summary

Mr Tobiko made the request to a Nairobi court on Tuesday after the National Cohesion and Reconciliation Commission accused Mr Kuria of breaching an agreement for an out-of-court settlement.
Mr Kuria was accused of spewing fresh hate messages targeting the Luo community on his Facebook page barely a week after committing not to do so.
Mr Kuria is accused of linking…

Kenyan Jailed for Insulting President Uhuru Kenyatta

A Kenyan student has been sentenced to a year in jail for insulting President Uhuru Kenyatta on social media.
Alan Wadi Okengo, 25, alias lieutenant Wadi, must also pay a fine of $2,200 (£1,400), or serve a second year.

He was also convicted of hate speech, after saying members of the president’s Kikuyu ethnic group should be confined to certain parts of…

Blogger Robert Alai Charged With Undermining President Uhuru Kenyatta

In Summary

The blogger was charged with undermining the authority of a public officer contrary to Section 132 of the Penal Code.
The State Counsel had in an affidavit alleged that Mr Alai is likely to repeat the same offence if released on bond as has similar pending cases.

Blogger Robert Alai was on Wednesday charged in a Kiambu court with undermining President…

Launch of the Internet Freedoms in East Africa 2014 Report

Today, the Collaboration on International ICT Policy in East and Southern Africa (CIPESA) launches The State of Internet  Freedoms in East Africa research report which is an Investigation into the policies and practices defining internet freedom in East Africa.

Thought leaders in the East African ICT industry  have gathered in Kampala, Uganda for the launch of this pivotal report.

The report  presents…

Ethiopia Detains Bloggers and Journalist

Security forces arrest six bloggers and a journalist in latest crackdown on opposition voices.
The Ethiopian government has arrested six independent bloggers and a journalist in what human rights group Amnesty International has called a “suffocating grip on freedom of expression”.

Six members of independent blogger and activist group ‘Zone 9’ and a prominent Ethiopian journalist were arrested on Friday in the…

Internet Filtering in a Failed State: Case study: Somalia

Key findings

Internet censorship products made by Canada-based Netsweeper have been identified on the networks of three Somalia-based Internet Service Providers (ISPs).
Testing has demonstrated that the Netsweeper installation on the network of the ISP Hormuud is being used to filter content.

The history of contested political authority and influence of a radical insurgency within Somalia raises questions about whether Netsweeper undertook due…

American Sues Ethiopian Government

American Sues Ethiopian Government for Spyware Infection

Months of Electronic Espionage Put American Citizen and Family at Risk

Washington, D.C. – An American citizen living in Maryland sued the Ethiopian government today for infecting his computer with secret spyware, wiretapping his private Skype calls, and monitoring his entire family’s every use of the computer for a period of months. The Electronic Frontier…

Somalia Powerless to Stop Al-Shabaab Mobile Internet Shutdown

Somalia Powerless to Stop Al-Shabaab Mobile Internet Shutdown
Osman Ali, the owner of an electronics shop in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu, has been hard-hit since Al-Shabaab forced the biggest telecoms company to switch off its mobile internet service in this Horn of Africa nation.

“I don’t understand why the government has not done anything to deal with the situation. It could at least…

Al Shabaab Shuts Down Internet in Somalia

Telecos operating in Al Shabaab-controlled areas of central and southern Somalia have heeded to an order by the militant group to shut off any internet services to their customers given 15 days ago despite the government having urged telcos to ignore the directive.

According to Hiraan Online news site, residents in these areas reported missing signals even as the militia was…