Kenyans took to the streets to protest a Finance Bill that has spawned discontent in the nation. However, the reaction by state authorities to the protests could have included sanctioned internet restrictions.
These incidents began by a noted unavailability of X (formally twitter) in Kenya. X has been a very effective tool for mobilisation for #rejectfinancebill2024 protests.
At 4.25 pm, Doug Madory, an internet analyst, noted “severe Internet connectivity problems in Kenya”. This was also reported by Cloudflare. The huge drop in traffic persisted till 9 pm, coincidentally, the moment Kenyan President began his address to the nation.
Undersea Cable Outage
Kenyan telco, Safaricom, issued a statement claiming that it is experiencing downtime on two of its undersea cables that deliver internet traffic in and out of the country. However, this has yet to be collaborated by any undersea cable company that serves Kenya. Following the multiple problems undersea cables have faced this year, many people know that resolving problems takes quite a number of days.
Read : Safaricom Denies Allegations of Sharing Customer Data Used By Abductors
The shutdown affected more than Kenya. The country is the main route to the submarine cables for Uganda, South Sudan, Rwanda, and Eastern DRC. Netblocks, the Internet observatory organisation, reported disruptions in Uganda and Burundi. While Netblocks did not confirm the cause, Cloudflare suggested the shutdown was “government directed”.
The previous day, the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) committed not to restrict internet access. Several digital civil societies had also issued statements dissuading the same.
Internet Restrictions Stifle Democracy
According to a recent report, 330 million people in Africa were affected by internet shutdowns in 2023. Of the 17 internet restrictions recorded in Africa, none of them was in Kenya. In 2022, 72 internet disruptions were recorded globally but again, none was in Kenya.
The allegations that the government sanctioned the internet restrictions heralds a new turn. It is also a huge irony that is may have been sanctioned by a government high on talk of a “digital superhighway” and growth of a digital economy.
Like the shutdown in Senegal earlier in the year, Kenya is yet another nation that often carry’s the mantle of the “regions most stable democracy”. Yet, here we are faced with internet restrictions motivated by political reasons.
Read :Internet Restrictions In Africa Motivated by Politics, Asia Experiences the Most
Further, internet restrictions are a direct contravention of the Kenyan constitution and international human rights law, which guarantee fundamental freedoms like freedom of expression, access to information, and peaceful assembly. Free communication by citizens is what enables people to hold their government accountable.
