As more people across East Africa gain access to the Internet, governments in the EAC countries are moving to enact or tighten legislation over digital spaces.

These laws regulate the extent to which these spaces can be used, especially in expanding the frontiers of free expression.

A study by the Collaboration on International ICT Policy in East and Southern Africa (Cipesa) on the state of online freedom in the region says that governments argue that surveillance laws are necessary to fight terrorism, cybercrime, hate speech, and, generally, to safeguard national security.

But Cipesa’s investigation into the policies and practices defining Internet freedom in East Africa notes: “Evidence from incidents where these laws have been invoked suggests that often the primary interest of authorities lies much closer to stifling legitimate expression than fighting terrorism and hate speech.”

According to Cipesa, “national security”, “terrorism,” “divisiveness”have been broadly, even ambiguously, defined. As such, their interpretation appears to be a preserve of those who wield state power.

This is especially pronounced in the absence of effective judicial oversight over how citizens’ communications are monitored.

“Fighting terrorism and hate speech are legitimate activities but should be done with strong judicial and legislative mechanisms, particularly in East African countries, where critical opinion and citizen organising in disapproval of a sitting government is often viewed as subversion and can attract undue intrusive surveillance,” said Ashnah Kalemera, a programme officer at Cipesa and the study’s co-researcher.  

“Restrictive laws have the potential to impact on how the Internet is used by those currently online as well as those yet to join. Ordinary citizens and activists who use the Internet as a platform to express their opinions, to hold leaders accountable and to take part in other governance processes do so often with a fear of  reprisal,” Ms Kalemera added.

Online spaces, particularly social media platforms, have gained a high reputation as democratising forces following their role in the so-called Arab Spring, in which several regimes in North Africa fell on account of online political activism via these spaces.

Human right

In 2011, the UN declared Internet access a human right. It noted that any interference with one’s connectivity is against international law.

According to Ms Kalemera, surveillance laws “should clearly define the reasons and circumstances under which monitoring can occur.

For all East African countries, the circumstances and laws under which individuals can be sanctioned over their online activities need to be explicitly defined in national legislation.”

Across all the five East African countries, there has been tremendous growth in access to the Internet since the arrival of undersea fibre-optic cables in 2009.

This, together with the maturing of telecom companies’ investments and shifts in market dynamics that have lowered barriers to entry, has contributed to faster Internet speeds and lower down user costs.

In Kenya and Tanzania, which host landing sites for the cables, Internet access has increased respectively from 8.67 per cent of the population in 2008 to nearly 50 per cent to date, and from 4.9 million users in 2010 to about 9.3 million by the end of 2013, according to data from national regulators and the International Telecommunications Union.

In Rwanda, Internet penetration has increased from seven per cent in 2012 to 19.55 per cent today. Uganda posted a 7.5 percentage increase in penetration from 12.5 per cent in 2010 to 20 per cent today.

Most Internet connections are over mobile devices, whose affordability has grown exponentially.

In Kenya, mobile access rate is 77 per cent; Uganda’s is 50 per cent; Rwanda’s is 63 per cent; while Tanzania’s is 61 per cent.