President Uhuru Kenyatta was today at State House Nairobi briefed by the National Celebrations Committee led by Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i on the ongoing preparations for Madaraka Day celebrations.
At the meeting, attended by Kajiado County Governor Joseph Ole Lenku and his Narok counterpart Samuel Ole Tunai, the committee took the President through the ongoing construction works at the Kajiado County Stadium in readiness for the national fete.
The Committee expressed concerns that the Kajiado stadium construction works may not be completed within the remaining three months as earlier envisaged.
Consequently, President Kenyatta directed that this year’s Madaraka Day Celebrations be held in Narok County.
By moving celebrations from Kajiado to neighbouring Narok, the Government seeks to ensure that the benefits arising from the hosting of the national event are retained within the same economic block in line with the established trend of hosting some national events in the Counties.
President Kenyatta further directed the Ministry of Sports and Heritage to allocate Shs 100 million to Kajiado County to ensure the on-going works at the stadium are complete to meet the required standards in readiness for hosting national celebrations in future.
Also present were the Principal Secretaries Karanja Kibichu (Interior and Coordination of National Government) and Kirimi Kaberia (Sports and Heritage) among others.
Narok County to host Madaraka Day fete
Uhuru raises Girl Guides budget by Ksh. 20 million
The Government has increased the annual budget given to Kenya Girl Guides Association (KGGA) from the current Ksh 26 Million to Ksh 45 million in the next financial year
Speaking on Sautrday at State House where KGGA had been hosted by their patron and First Lady Margaret Kenyatta, Education Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohamed the government recognizes the movement as a co-curriculum activity in all schools that is key in empowering girls and women to take a leadership role.
Over 2000 thousand women and girls had gathered at the state House to mark World Thinking Day themed leadership
The event was briefly graced by the President Uhuru Kenyatta, who encouraged women to take up leadership roles in the society. Amidst cheers from the crowd for unexpectedly honoring the event with his presence, the President lauded women leadership in the country saying some of the best performers in his government are women.
“Some of the best leaders in my government are women and I am looking forward to the day
when Kenya will have a first woman president,” said the President.
The First lady while presenting awards and certificates to the over 2,000 nominees said the movement celebrates women and girls who have dedicated their time as volunteers and served selflessly in the movement and the community.
World Thinking day, formerly thinking day started in 1926 and is celebrated annually on February, 22 by all girl guides and girl scouts. It is also celebrated by Scout and Guide organizations and some boy-oriented associations around the world. It is a day when they think about their “sisters” (and “brothers”) in all the countries of the world, the meaning of Guiding, and its global impact.
22 February was chosen as it was the birthday of Scouting and Guiding founder Lord Robert Baden-Powell and of Lady Olave Baden-Powell , his wife and World Chief Guide.
Explainer: what’s at stake in Kenyan court case on gay rights
The much-awaited court ruling on a petition seeking to decriminalise homosexuality in Kenya has been delayed for at least a further two months. The petition currently before the High Court argues that two sections of the Penal Code contravene several rights enshrined in the Constitution. For instance, they deny lesbian, gay and bisexual people the right to privacy. Julius Maina asked Adriaan van Klinken to provide some context to the ruling
What legal restrictions do Kenyan LGBTI people face?
The two petitions that the High Court is dealing with are concerned with Sections 162 (a) and (c) and 165 of the Kenyan Penal Code. Section 162 sets out categories of “unnatural offences”, defined as “carnal knowledge against the order of nature”. This is a term that has historically referred to anal sexual intercourse.
The penalty for this is 14 years imprisonment. Although this law is not explicitly and exclusively about homosexuality – it would equally apply to heterosexual couples engaged in anal sex – it’s mostly been used to prosecute men involved in same-sex relationships.
Section 165 is concerned with “indecent practices between males”, either committed in private or in public. This carries a penalty of five years imprisonment. The law doesn’t provide a definition of what counts as “indecency”. However, historically it’s referred to non-penetrative sexual acts between men.
Both laws criminalise male homosexual relationships. But there’s room to interpret Section 162 to cover female same-sex relationships as “unnatural” too. This means that both men and women involved in same-sex relationships in Kenya fear the possibility of legal prosecution.
How many of these laws date back to colonial times?
Kenya’s Penal Code was originally introduced in 1930 when the country was a British colony.
The British Empire first introduced laws against “unnatural offences” and “indecent practices among males” to India’s Penal Code in 1860. It then copied these to its colonies in Africa.
Human Rights Watch produced a report in 2008 entitled “This Alien Legacy”. The report traced the origins of “sodomy” laws in the British colonial empire, pointing out that their introduction was inspired by a “mission of moral reform—to correct and Christianize ‘native’ custom”.
When Kenya became independent from Britain in 1964 it retained the Penal Code. In other words, it’s laws were never decolonised. The irony is that these laws are often now defended as reflecting “African values”.
As the Human Rights Watch report explains, the scope of the laws has expanded over the decades to include the penalisation of sex between two women which was never part of the British law.
Are Kenya’s laws more restrictive than other countries in the region?
The relevant sections of the Kenyan Penal Code are similar to laws in most other African countries, in particular former British colonies. Some countries, such as Uganda and Nigeria have sought to introduce even more wide-ranging laws targeting LGBTI people in recent years.
In Kenya, on the other hand, the introduction of the new Constitution in 2010 has given growing impetus to the recognition of the rights of LGBTI people.
The Constitution doesn’t explicitly mention sexual orientation or gender identity. But, as prominent gay activist and lawyer Eric Gitari points out, it “nonetheless possessed golden threads of equality, dignity and freedom”.
Indeed, various legal successes have been achieved in Kenyan courts in recent years. In 2014 the High Court ruled that the transgender organisation, Transgender Education and Advocacy, should be allowed to register as an NGO, and in 2015 a similar ruling was made for the National Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission. Thus the right to freedom of association was effectively applied to LGBT groups, and the right to protection against discrimination was applied to sexual orientation and gender identity.
In 2018 a Court of Appeal in Mombasa ruled that forced anal examination of people accused of same-sex activity was unconstitutional as it violated the right to privacy.
Are attitudes towards gay rights changing in the country?
During the campaign towards the referendum about the new constitution, conservative forces – including the current Deputy President, William Ruto – called on citizens to vote against it. One of their arguments for taking this stance was that it would lead to the legalisation of homosexuality.
Despite this, the majority of Kenyans voters (67%) came out in support of the new constitution, which, at the very least, suggests that homosexuality was not their top priority.
Many prominent political and religious leaders in Kenya are vocal on issues of homosexuality. And the Kenyan Film Classification Board has banned several gay-themed films in recent years because they would promote “immorality”.
But it seems that attitudes might be changing slowly.
One example of this is that the Kenyan media reflect a wide range of opinions on LGBTI related matters and don’t hesitate to challenge and criticise politicians using homophobic rhetoric. This isn’t echoed in the media of some other countries in the region.
There is also a growing visibility of LGBTI people in Kenya, which has helped to give a face to an issue that was previously rather abstract to most Kenyans.
President Uhuru Kenyatta’s repeated statement that for most Kenyans today homosexuality is a “non-issue” is also interesting, because it leaves open the possibility of future social and political change on the subject.
Adriaan van Klinken, Associate Professor of Religion and African Studies, University of Leeds
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Justice Fatuma admits failure of the Judiciary to fight corruption
COURT of Appeal Judge Justice Fatuma Sichale has admitted that the judiciary is the weak link in the fight against corruption.
Sichale said some judges have been a let down to taxpayers in as far as dispensation of justice and said time to pull up their socks had come.
“We hear the wailing from Wanjiku on a daily basis. We must all change the way we do things in order to dispense justice and win back public confidence”; Justice Sichale said.
She was speaking during the Induction of Board Members at the lLake Naivasha Resort.
Sichale however said majority of the judges are executing their duties well and urged Kenyans not to blame the judiciary as a whole.
She also added that it was a right of every Kenyan to receive timely judgements and decried delays in dispensing judgements.
Supreme court heads set to roll as JSC probes graft allegations
The Judicial Service Commision is to probe graft allegations against the Supreme Court made by Senior Counsel Ahmed Nassir Abdulahi.
The graft allegations were made after the apex court dismissed a ruling by the Court of Appeal that had dismissed the election of Governor Nadhif.
Nassir has sensationally claimed that some Supreme Court Judges had ‘took bribes’.
On 21st February 2019, Nchogu, Omwanza& Nyasimi advocates wrote to CJ Maraga giving a notice to formally complain about the graft allegations. In a swift rejoinder, the CJ refered the matter to the JSC.
In the past, Supreme Court Judges have been accused of engaging in graft. Already, Deputy CJ Phelomena Mwilu is on the spotlight over graft.
Mwilu was arrested amid high drama at the Supreme Court cases by the DCI Director George Kinoti.
Neo-Colonial ills against Turkana people ‘ending’
The opportunity to correct the almost neo-colonial ills against Turkana County residents previously disinherited of their birth right via a skewed contractual agreement between them and African Camp Solutions (ACS) is here…
ACS had leased out vast land in Turkana for the provision of frontier support services to companies exploring for oil in Northern Kenya for more than a decade. Through a clever web of influential political and community leaders, ACS through its Nanyuki based point man, Mr David Walker (no stranger to controversies) secured the rights and lease of more than 500 acres of land.
This, rather opaque deal is potentially valued at more than Kshs 3billion to ostensibly deploy and manage large and small, fixed and temporary camps that would enable ACS clients to overcome the difficulties of operating in remote areas where the logistical challenges are great.
The ACS deal signed in the late 90s was to provide an integrated package for oil firms, including accommodation, catering, logistical support, air support, boats, medical care, security and liaison with local people.
Sadly, the ACS lease in Turkana has never provided full value to the community. Accountability on the monies generated, ACS community investments or even grants information have been hard to come by.
Ideally, a decade and more later, the community should reap more by taking over the role played by ACS. In Turkana, for example, Tullow operates from a site referred to as Kapese Integrated Support Base (ISB)…the ISB is operated by ACS which has leased communal land…to ensure that the community benefits, Tullow guests to Kapese ISB pay a fee per bed night to the Trust Fund
KAPESE Trust Fund Trustees are selected by the community and are communally led by Emanman who is very influential. He is what the Turkana call an emuron (diviner). An Emuron is a very important local opinion leader with the power to influence the wider community
The Kapese Trust which already exists, leases out the community land and provides labour to ACS has amassed invaluable knowledge and competence to run the Camps required by Tullow among other clients.
The ACS/Kapese scenario perhaps mirrors the scenario once painted by Environmentalist John Mbaria in his book The Big Conservation Lie. By all means community empowerment should ideally target communities at the forefront of the development agenda with clear transition, after skills transfer.
We ask why can’t this contract be transferred to the Kapese community. That is nothing but good stewardship and community empowerment. Indeed, with the recent signing of a deed of Trust establishing a charitable trust for the local community in Turkana South and East Sub-Counties, the communities should not be disposed of their resources. The renewal of ACS’s interim land lease agreement by the Turkana County Government is really in bad faith.
“I look forward to Kenya having a female president” Says Uhuru
President Uhuru Kenyatta today said that he looks forward to the day Kenya will have its first female Head of State.
While acknowledging that women are naturally gifted with attributes of servant leadership, the President said some of his best performing Cabinet Secretaries are women.
“I pray to God and look forward to the day that I shall be sitting and listening to the first female President addressing the people of the Republic of Kenya,” said the Head of State.
“Some of my best ministers are women. Women understand the basis of servant leadership. Women understand that it is dedication to the family and the country that matters,” he continued.
The Head of State was speaking when he briefly joined First Lady Margaret Kenyatta who hosted over 2000 Girl Guides and their leaders during celebrations to mark this year’s World Thinking Day.
The function held at State House grounds was attended by Cabinet Secretaries for Education Ambassador Amina Mohamed and her Public Service counterpart Prof. Margaret Kobia.
President Kenyatta said Kenyan women, especially the young ones have both a great future and potential. They should always strive to bring out the best qualities in them without allowing to be put down by anybody.
“Nobody should put you down because you are girls on the excuse that you have no capacity,” President Kenyatta told the women and girls adding that leadership in the family and the country does not exist without the full participation of women.
“What really matters is the commitment to the family and the country. I will continue working and supporting the girl child and ensure women take their rightful place in our society called Kenya,” said the Head of State.
The World Thinking Day is celebrated under the auspices of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS) across 150 countries in the World.
The Kenya Girl Guides association (KGGA) is a member of the global body that brings together over 10 million Girl Guides and Scouts.
Celebrated since 1926, World Thinking Day is a day of international friendship and gives the girls an opportunity to speak out on issues that affect young women and fundraise for the 10 million Girl Guides and Girl Scouts.
The World Thinking Day also celebrates the birthdays of the late Baden Powell and his wife Olave Powell who were the founders of the Scouts and the Girl Guides movements respectively.
The remains of the two icons who share a February 22 birthday are buried in Nyeri, Kenya.
First Lady Margaret Kenyatta, who is the patron of the KGGA extolled the virtues of dignity, integrity and servant leadership among the Girl Guides and Girl Scouts.
“I applaud you for standing firm, and holding on to the virtues that this movement has come to be associated with: dignity, integrity, service, leadership and patriotism,” said the First Lady.
The First Lady said she was proud and honoured to be associated with a movement that seeks to raise and empower girls and women to develop to their fullest potential as leaders and citizens of the world.
“We celebrate girls and women who have committed their energy and time to be change agents,” said the First Lady.
She said the Kenya Girl Guides movement has impacted millions of girls and women in Kenya , indiscriminately drawn from different social backgrounds and brought together for a noble cause of empowerment.
The First Lady said the principles of character building associated with the Girl guides and scouts movement are true gems that guide the girls for the rest of their lives.
The occasion also acknowledged and celebrated women who have voluntarily dedicated decades of their time and served diligently, sharing their knowledge and mentoring girls.
“You are our heroes, trailblazers and true inspiration to us all,” said the First Lady.
During the occasion, the First Lady presented various awards to 236 recipients in recognition of their exemplary work in the movement.
The awardees included Guide leaders, Head-teachers of schools, County Girl Guide Commissioners, partners and senior heroes who have distinguished themselves in the service of the country including former Commissioner Ms Honorine Kiplagat and Lady Justice Joyce Aluoch
Other awards recognized exceptional guiding, leadership, peer mentoring, and heroism.
Other speakers at the ceremony included Prof. Kobia, Ambassador Amina Mohammed, the National Council chairperson of the KGGA Prof. Faith Nguru, Chief Commissioner Jennifer Karina and WAGGS Vice Chair Ms Jayne Wachira.
Why embracing indigenous languages could have major benefits for Kenya
Kenya is a multilingual country with over 42 different indigenous languages. In addition, foreign languages are used by minorities in major towns and in some learning institutions. The most dominant foreign language is English which is an official language alongside Kiswahili.
Foreign languages – especially English – enjoy the highest positive attitudes in regard to their acquisition and use. To many Kenyans, the perception is that a knowledge of English is a true sign of having good school education.
Kiswahili, the national language, enjoys widespread acceptance and use. It’s an inter-ethnic language of communication and generally it is used as a lingua franca. It is the most common language in Kenyan towns and market centres.
The lowest group of languages in the preference scale is indigenous languages that majority of Kenyans acquire and know well. They are used in homes, in open-air markets across the country, in worship services and to some extent in pre-primary and primary schools as co-languages of teaching.
But perceptions might gradually shift with the inclusion of these indigenous languages in Kenya’s new curriculum. The country’s language-in-education policy states that indigenous languages should be used to teach children from grade one up to three. This policy has been in existence from 1976. But the lack of enforcement means that discussions about the importance of the use of indigenous languages in schools is still hotly debated.
Kenyan language scholars have for decades advocated and written about the role mother tongues should play in the country. The challenge has been that those who champion this approach don’t control public resources. The result is that nothing ever gets done about it.
But that might be about to change with the launch of the competence based curriculum already under implementation in grades one up to three. The new school system places emphasis on developing learner abilities rather than preparing learners to pass national examinations as has been the case. It is an approach that puts the learner at the centre of learning activities and in which mother tongues are likely to assume fresh significance.
The importance of the rebirth of the use of indigenous languages in schools in Kenya cannot be overemphasised. It could have a profound effect on children’s educational outcomes, as well as much broader beneficial effects on the Kenyan society.
The case for mother tongue
Research shows overwhelmingly that mother tongues are the most ideal tools for early child education. In a variety of countries, such as South Africa, Ethiopia, Papua New Guinea, studies indicate that the mother tongue medium is the best for early school education. This is particularly true in sub-Saharan Africa where research has shown that early education based on a child’s mother tongue gives them a head start in their literacy and language learning.
A study conducted in Ethiopia recently, for instance, indicates that pupils who transition to English medium of instruction in grade five perform better in mathematics. The findings corroborate findings in South Africa.
Research findings commissioned by international organisations including UNESCO and World Bank concur that a mother tongue is the best language in early school learning. For instance, UNESCO indicates that mother tongues are the best sociologically, psychologically, and educationally for children entering primary school.
Impact of the new curriculum
Kenya’s new curriculum could boost the use of mother tongues quite significantly.
Firstly, the methodology itself is likely to affect language use. The curriculum is designed to build learner capacities by putting pupils at the centre of learning activities. This implies the use of language to name things, to discuss with the teacher and fellow pupils. Majority of lower primary school pupils usually enter school with their mother tongues and this is the only resource they have to negotiate ideas.
The use of mother tongues to do this makes a great deal of sense. And also suggests that using English at grade one for children in rural and other areas is inappropriate.
Secondly, new various languages have been published to meet the demands of the new curriculum. At Kisii University recently, a publisher launched literacy books in the Ekegusii language, which is the predominant language in both Kisii and Nyamira Counties of western Kenya. Materials for other indigenous languages for use in the new curriculum are being developed.
The publication of literacy materials promises a rebirth of the use of these languages in the school system. This might help preserve many local languages from extinction.
There could be broader benefits to society too.
Firstly, children will have an opportunity to acquire and develop their mother tongues. Very early introduction to second languages is in some cases to blame for the poor language mastery of most young people – they do not know any of the languages they speak competently.
Secondly, it will improve early literacy outcomes in primary schools. Recent research indicates that majority of pupils entering grade four have literacy skills below expectations. Researchers attribute this to premature introduction of pupils, especially from rural areas and informal settlements-into the English medium
Thirdly, the new curriculum provides for the study of indigenous languages as career subjects later on. This implies that learning the languages might be sources of employment like in working as interpreters, book writers, teachers, and as linguists.
Fourth, it will make Kenya a truly multilingual society. Contrary to arguments about many languages breeding tribalism, a country with a multilingual and multicultural ethos is a truly cohesive society; the population grows to appreciate others as different and not as good or bad.
Finally, counties might consider making some indigenous languages as additional official languages in their territories. This might give millions of Kenyans a voice to negotiate development issues. Currently, the use of Kiswahili and English only excludes some people from participating in public affairs specifically in projects that require public participation. This isn’t an optimal state of affairs.
Dr Peter Mose, Post-doctoral fellow. Rhodes University, Rhodes University
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
How young filmmakers are protecting artistic freedom in Kenya
Artistic freedom was always tenuous in Kenya, but it’s become even less so since Uhuru Kenyatta became president in 2013. The political pendulum has swung against political dissenters, intellectuals and a handful of media institutions that still believed in objective journalism.
Progressive gains made under the previous administration of President Mwai Kibaki(2002-2013), such as the freedom of press and speech, have disintegrated. In particular, Kenyatta and the men overseeing the country’s cultural landscape, have rolled back artistic freedom by banning films that attempted to expand identity or interpreted it differently. The most prominent example is Rafiki, a recent Kenyan film that was banned for “promoting lesbianism”.
Historically, artistic freedom has always been the outcome of struggle. For example, stage actors initiated the first struggle when post-colonial administrations outlawed theatre groups because actors associated themselves with institutions such as the University of Nairobi and Kenya National Theatre (see Ngugi wa Thiong’o’s Decolonising the Mind). By and large, the two institutions hosted the most vocal government critics. It became standard procedure for the government to ask theatre groups to submit play scripts for “assessment” before it could issue a performance license.
Officials paid insignificant attention to musicians and film directors as they hardly antagonised the ruling elites and produced non-controversial items. An example was the sycophantic song, Tawala Kenya Tawala (“rule Kenya rule”), composed and produced by Thomas Wasonga. The lyrics exhorted Daniel Arap Moi, Kenya’s second post-colonial president, to rule eternally. Wasonga’s conservative counterparts in the film industry avoided politics, limiting their cinematic gaze to less controversial themes.
Recently, however, a progressive group of young filmmakers has changed the contours informing cinematic themes. Ambitious and daring, they have inspired a national dialogue of what constitutes free speech as encapsulated in the country’s new Constitution, as well as artistic freedom, and individual and societal identity.
Ambitious and daring
Unlike their forebears, young filmmakers are increasingly embracing cinema as an ideal platform on which to construct a pluralistic identity that includes the LGBTQ community. This has offended the government’s sensibility. Consequently, it has brought cinema under heightened scrutiny.
In September 2014, the Nest Collective, a production company that produced The Stories of Our Lives, applied for a license to distribute and exhibit the film. They received a rejection letter from the Kenya Film and Classification Board, a government agency that regulates film content, which claimed that the film had obscenity, explicit scenes of sexual activities and it promotes homosexuality which, is contrary to our national norms and values.
The classification board drew the producer’s attention to a piece of legislation – the Film & Plays Stage Act – that borrows heavily from the colonial government’s The Stage Plays and Cinematography Exhibitions Ordinance, 1912. During the colonial period the ordinance was used to censor Hollywood westerns to shield African audience from undesirable ideas such as kissing, sex, shooting and nudity.
Rather than evoke Kenya’s Constitution – which protects the “freedom to seek, receive or impart information or ideas”, and the “freedom of artistic creativity” – to sue the board, the Nest Collective retreated. It took its case to social media, where, as expected, it died.
Same tactic
Four years later, classification board officials banned Rafiki in May 2018 because, as they pointed out, it contained,
homosexual scenes that are against the law, the culture and moral values of the Kenyan people.
It warned that anyone found in possession of the film would be in breach of the law in Kenya, where gay sex is punishable by 14 years.
The film’s director, Wanuri Kahiu, sued the Board. She argued in court that the ban violated her constitutional right to free speech and artistic freedom of expression. Kahiu insisted that Kenya is,
made up of different types of people with different imaginations. There should be freedom to express these imaginations, because imagination doesn’t have boundaries.
The country’s high court agreed with her. They lifted the ban for seven days, allowing the film to be screened and become eligible to be submitted as Kenya’s entry for Best Foreign Language Film at the Oscars.
Random act
The censorship of cultural productions doesn’t happen in a vacuum, nor is it a random act designed to secure imagined norms and values. It is a calculated and premediated act of subjugation and an act of authoritarianism. In the cultural sphere this begins when the ruling class imagines and constructs a national identity that encompasses nonexistent and undefined principles — such as moral values and norms. It then moves to create competing categories of people, “us” versus “them”. Once this is complete, the chips are expected to fall in place.
However, young filmmakers are resisting this path. Resisting it is the only way in which artists can ensure they retain a freer artistic spaces. But that requires acts of courage. As Martin Luther King Jr reminded the world in 1963 from a Birmingham jail:
Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor, it must be demanded by the oppressed.
This, exactly, is what Rafiki‘s Kahiu did when she sued the government. It’s what the Nest Collective failed to do. Local artists seeking artistic freedom must follow in Kahiu’s footsteps and peel back the veneer that legitimises censorship.
Samson Kaunga Ndanyi, Assistant Professor of African History, Rhodes College
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Shutting down the internet doesn’t work — but governments keep doing it
As the internet continues to gain considerable power and agency around the world, many governments have moved to regulate it. And where regulation fails, some states resort to internet shutdowns or deliberate disruptions.
The statistics are staggering. In India alone, there were 154 internet shutdowns between January 2016 and May 2018. This is the most of any country in the world.
But similar shutdowns are becoming common on the African continent. Already in 2019 there have been shutdowns in Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Republic of Congo, Chad, Sudan and Zimbabwe. Last year there were 21 such shutdowns on the continent. This was the case in Togo, Sierra Leone, Sudan and Ethiopia, among others.
The justifications for such shutdowns are usually relatively predictable. Governments often claim that internet access is blocked in the interest of public security and order. In some instances, however, their reasoning borders on the curious if not downright absurd, like the case of Ethiopia in 2017 and Algeria in 2018 when the internet was shut down apparently to curb cheating in national examinations.
Whatever their reasons, governments have three general approaches to controlling citzens’ access to the web.
How they do it
Internet shutdowns or disruptions usually take three forms. The first and probably the most serious is where the state completely blocks access to the internet on all platforms. It’s arguably the most punitive, with significant social, economic and political costs.
The financial costs can run into millions of dollars for each day the internet is blocked. A Deloitte report on the issue estimates that a country with average connectivity could lose at least 1.9% of its daily GDP for each day all internet services are shut down.
For countries with average to medium level connectivity the loss is 1% of daily GDP, and for countries with average to low connectivity it’s 0.4%. It’s estimated that Ethiopia, for example, could lose up to US$500,000 a day whenever there is a shutdown. These shutdowns, then, damage businesses, discourage investments, and hinder economic growth.
The second way that governments restrict internet access is by applying content blocking techniques. They restrict access to particular sites or applications. This is the most common strategy and it’s usually targeted at social media platforms. The idea is to stop or limit conversations on these platforms.
Online spaces have become the platform for various forms of political expression that many states especially those with authoritarian leanings consider subversive. Governments argue, for example, that social media platforms encourage the spread of rumours which can trigger public unrest.
This was the case in 2016 in Uganda during the country’s presidential elections. The government restricted access to social media, describing the shutdown as a “security measure to avert lies … intended to incite violence and illegal declaration of election results”.
In Zimbabwe, the government blocked social media following demonstrations over an increase in fuel prices. It argued that the January 2019 ban was because the platforms were being “used to coordinate the violence”.
The third strategy, done almost by stealth, is the use of what is generally known as “bandwidth throttling”. In this case telecom operators or internet service providers are forced to lower the quality of their cell signals or internet speed. This makes the internet too slow to use. “Throttling” can also target particular online destinations such as social media sites.
What drives governments
In most cases the desire to control the internet is rooted in governments’ determination to control the political narrative. Many see the internet as an existential threat that must be contained, no matter what consequences it will have on other sectors.
The internet is seen as a threat because it disrupts older forms of government political control, particularly the control of information. The stranglehold on the production and dissemination of information has always been an invaluable political tool for many African governments.
The loss of this control, at a time when the media has brought politics closer to the people, presents governments with a distinctly unsettling reality. Social media, for example, inherently encourages political indiscipline and engenders the production and circulation of alternative political narratives.
In addition, because it is a networked platform, users are simultaneously and instantaneously local and international and are engaged in an information carnival that is difficult to police. Quite often the narratives therein are at variance with the self-preserving and carefully constructed ideologies of the state.
The shutdown trend
The irony, however, is that as these shutdowns continue, even proliferate, there is scant evidence they actually work. Instead, they seem to animate dissent and encourage precisely the kind of responses considered subversive by many governments This has been the case in Burkina Faso and Uganda, for example, where such bans have simply increased the profile of the causes being agitated.
Internet shutdowns don’t stop demonstrations. Nor do they hinder the production and circulation of rumours: they encourage them instead. Many people are also circumventing the shutdowns through the use of virtual private networks (VPNs). These are networks that redirect internet activity to a computer in a different geographical location thus enabling access to sites blocked in one’s own country. VPNS are now par for the course in countries like Zimbabwe.
The future of unfettered internet access in Africa looks precarious should governments continue on this trajectory. The absence in many African countries of enforceable constitutional guarantees that protect the public’s right to information means there are few opportunities for legal redress. This makes the development of legislative regimes that recognise and protect access to the internet both urgent and necessary.
George Ogola, Reader in Journalism, University of Central Lancashire
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.