The spate of internet shutdown sweeping across the African continent is becoming a worrisome trend. Several countries like Cameroon, DR Congo, Liberia, Ethiopia, Benin Republic have all had their fair share of internet shut down. In some countries there has been no shut down, there have been cases of unfair taxation on internet access either disrupting communication or slowing down development in the fast-rising African tech ecosystem.
Mauritania is the latest country to join the trend. This week the Government disrupted internet connectivity following contested elections. Many had nursed the hope of a first-ever peaceful transfer of power since Independence in 1960 only to have the hope dashed after the ruling party’s candidate, Mohamed Ould Ghazouani was declared the winner by 52%, opposition candidates said the vote was marred by irregularities.
Internet monitoring organization, NetBlocks reported that officials of the country blocked both mobile data and fixed-line connections. All of Mauritania’s consumer internet providers, Mauritel, Chinguitel, and Mattel were also affected.
African Governments have made it a trend to keep people offline in what is seen as a way of perpetuating themselves in office. This strategy has not always come off as effective as some few citizens still find ways to connect. Unfair as it is, most of these government officials rarely back up these disturbing moves with plausible reasons. Some governments have attributed them to combating fake news, hate speech, or limiting violence.
In Mauritania, for instance, a paltry 21% of its 4 million people are online, according to data from the World Bank. The same is just as dire in Ethiopia: with 108 million people, just over 18% of the population were online as of 2017. In May, Somalia, a country where 2% of the people have net, announced it would turn off social media to deter exam cheats. Chad, which has just over 6% internet penetration, has restricted social media networks for 15 months now.
Speaking on the latest incident of internet shutdown in Africa, Amnesty International’s West Africa researcher, Franço said, “The authorities must exercise restraint in dealing with the protesters, including ensuring their safety and opening up the internet space so that people can freely express themselves and share information.”
