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Digital media has forced African governments to hire on merit

Monday May 21 2018
hack

However much the president might love his son, he cannot give him the job if he’s not a sharp code breaker. Therefore, to control cyber space, governments are having to do some things that some of them haven’t done before — like hiring people on merit. FOTOSEARCH

By Charles Onyango-Obbo

In recent weeks Tanzania and Kenya have passed rules or laws that they say are aimed at dealing with hate speech, fake news, cyber bullying, and other mischief online and on social media.

In Uganda, President Yoweri Museveni has proposed to tax social media apps like WhatsApp, Facebook and Twitter, and last week took it a notch higher, saying his government too would introduce laws to control social media use.

The Computer Misuse and Cybercrimes law that President Uhuru Kenyatta assented to outlaws abuse on social media and cyber bullying.

Purveyors of “false information” could get up to two years in jail upon conviction, a fine of up to $50,000, or both.

Press freedom groups are up in arms, and naughty bloggers are probably having sleepless nights already.

In Tanzania a few weeks ago, the government published rules requiring bloggers to pay $920. All online publishers including bloggers, vloggers and podcasters have to register and pay $480 for a three-year licence, plus an annual fee of $440.

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Among other things, the government said the move aims to protect the country from “lies” being spread online. Unsurprisingly, with the free press and opposition under siege since President John Magufuli came to power, the actions have been criticised as part of a wider campaign to throttle freedom of expression.

But there’s something else happening here. Barely 15 years ago, few African presidents had an email address or knew how to turn on a computer.

Vloggers didn’t exist, and bloggers were awkward young men who didn’t have money or the courage to go out and ask the nice girl next door out on a date, and were hiding in their darkened rooms.

Yet, today, they are the new threat — even more so than mainstream media, which is easier to control and bend with inducements like state advertisements. Social media is the new frontline in African politics, and clever little boys and girls are running around the corridors of power managing presidents’ social media accounts.

The nature of the new enemies of the governments, is therefore a rich indicator of how much structural change digital media has caused.

To take on the new threats, our governments will have to change in ways that, even though unintentionally, might have some good side benefits. It’s not, for example, easy to hack into someone’s blog or social media account, to find out who the anonymous hate speech monger really is.

However much the president might love his son, he cannot give him the job if he’s not a sharp code breaker. Therefore, to control cyber space, governments are having to do some things that some of them haven’t done before — like hiring people on merit.

They will have to bring on board people who can actually read. And since the new age censors aren’t working off a newspaper, they will at a minimum need modern computers, decent broadband connections, and to have electricity in the office.

Like those TV shows where people lose weight to look good on their wedding day, to be successful digital policemen, governments have to get better and more technologically literate. It’s no longer the kind of job a ruling party goon with a cricket bat can take care of at a street corner.

Charles Onyango-Obbo is publisher of data visualiser Africapaedia and Rogue Chiefs. Twitter@cobbo3

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