The techhub that is Nairobi Kenya has witnessed what is building up to be its biggest occurrence of digital activism. The techsavvy youthful population organized and fully utilized their tech skills to bring to life the #OccupyParliament protests.
In a perfect case where digital activism meets courage on the streets, the mobilization started a couple of weeks back. After the Finance Bill 2024 was made public, one of the earliest initiatives was the creation of a Finance Bill GPT. Ndemo Kelvin, a software developer, fed the generative AI platform the entire content of the bill. His end game was clear, make it easier for Kenyans to understand the 132 pages document.
“If you want to further understand the finance bill and its implications, I have created the Finance Bill GPT, a GPT with up-to-date info on the finance bill, use it to understand the bill and ask any questions you may, ‘ Ndemo wrote on his X account.
But it wasn’t just the contents of the finance bill that the GPT could provide. Using social media platforms, Google sheets and messaging apps, Kenyans digitally crowd sourced the phone numbers of their parliamentary representees. Querying the Finance Bill GPT would give a Kenyan their MPs number if it had been shared.
This was part of the digital activism to put pressure on MPs to say no to the proposals of the bill. Whether pressure on MPs increased, decreased or just creased is yet to be established. They did respond with some changes although not much reprieve for taxpayers.
Pressure certainly increased on the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Having been inundated by emails from Kenyans, the organization blocked all its emails. Kenyans also used social media to pressure other persons such as the first lady.
After the MPs recommend changes, Ndemo went back to the GPT and updated it. These changes were from the report by the departmental committee on Finance and National Planning. This is one particular instance of AI and civic engagement that is probably AI’s biggest achievement in Kenya.
MP Recall System
The tech community was just warming up. Pressure on MPs is set to be ramped up as talk of recalls gathers pace. In comes the recommendation to build a system with digital signing enabling the needed signatures to collected. The proposal is to build a foolproof system that integrates with the Integrated Population Registration System (IPRS). IPRS is a collection of registries from various government agencies. The integration is necessary to verify voters. However, the current hurdle is any call made to the IPRS via an API is charged and the cost is hefty.
#OccupyParliament USSD
A USSD platform was also developed, *665*971# had the ability to offer the following to protestors. Its ability to inform is based on localized content.
- Meetup Points
- Facts about the bill.
- Ask Finance GPT
- Submit Anonymous Tips
Digital Activism vs the Darkside
Beyond the detailed programming and AI stuff, tech took a front seat in Journalism and digital documentation. Kenyan police service is known to violate the rights of Kenyans during protests. Further, there have been allegations of protestors disappearing.
However, at the #OccupyKenya protests, cameras and smartphones were out to document and amplify. Arrests and protestors whisked into private cars were well captured and shared. Misbehaving police officers were also caught on camera.
This visual evidence was used to ramp up pressure on the state institutions. The actions were fruitful as many of those arrested were released. Rogue police officers suffered the same fate as MPs. There details were shared and Kenyans buzzed their phones.
Social media was also used to compile lists of Kenyans who were unreachable on their phones. Lawyers were mobilized via the socials and dispatched to help process those arrested.
As calls to Reject the Finance Bill 2024 grow. More digital initiatives are being fronted. MPs businesses have been targeted with a call to crowdsource a registry. A web portal documenting how MPs vote is already up. How they vote will determine whether their business establishments are boycotted or not.
The dark side of digital activism also reared its head. The misinformation and propaganda gang of digital platforms was deployed. Aptly nicknamed the 527th battalion, a moniker for payment they receive and the additional KES 27 for withdrawal fee. They were online discrediting all those exercising their rights to protest. All in all, digital activism has come alive in the East African silicon Savannah and the tech community is ready.
