Internet Democracy in Contemporary African Governance and Politics

Internet has become an effective way of communication today but most importantly during periods of pandemics like the one we have currently.  As the world’s population gets close to 7.8 billion people, the importance of internet as a tool to share and disseminate relevant information, engage and facilitate citizen interaction – voicing opinions and perspectives about their country and governance is a central pillar of participation that cannot be underestimated. This is why it’s important for many governments to lower the cost of internet so that many of its citizens are able not only to consume COVID-19 health related information but also use such a platform to discuss and stimulate debate around the governance of their country including their health systems. For example, reports still show that internet in Africa is unaffordable for majority citizens.

In Uganda, recent report produced by Pollicy – an organization that advances and promotes civic engagement and participation through technology in government notes that it cost 15% of an average Ugandan citizen to get 1GB of internet data. The Alliance 4 Affordable internet (A4AI); a global coalition working to improve internet access for all globally believes that for internet to be said to be affordable, 1GB of internet data should cost less than 2% of a person’s monthly income. Out of the work of the Alliance 4 Affordable internet in Africa, only 10 out of 45 countries surveyed in their report have affordable internet. In Africa 1 GB of data on average cost nearly 7.1% of a person’s monthly income.

There have been several proposals on social media for governments and telecom companies to lower the cost of internet to allow African citizens access health information related to COVID-19 freely. While other telecom companies have introduced new affordable bundles during the period; internet cost still remain high. MTN Uganda for instance introduced the ‘Work from Home Bundle’ where one can acquire up to 1 GB of data bundle at Uganda Shillings 2,000 ($0.53) from 9am to 5pm daily. Meanwhile, social media taxes in Uganda continue despite calls by local leaders in Uganda that the tax be waived during this period. Many Ugandans need to pay particular amount of Voice Over Internet (OTT) taxes in order to access WhatsApp, Twitter, Instagram and Facebook among other popular social networking sites.

Despite all the hurdles associated in relaying information to its citizenry, African governments continue to shut down its internet. Among the least thing they should be doing is to block internet for their own people. In 2019 only, Internet were shut down in many parts of the Sub-Sahara during elections and people’s movements over human rights demand. Statistics records internet shutdowns and or disruptions in countries such as Benin, Chad, Congo DR, Gabon, Mali, Egypt, Sudan, Algeria, and Zimbabwe. The shutdowns go hand in hand with arrest, torture, imprisonment, disappearances and even death of mainly civil society activists, journalists and opposition politicians.

Internet is the unifying and enlightenment tool of the society. It deserves to be called the digital backbone or cornerstone of democracy in the 21^st century. Thus, any government that uses internet as a tool of repression, hates democracy and human rights and this explains why these governments are termed not only to be dictatorial but authoritarian in characters. But where Internet is freely used, shared and enjoyed, there is rule of law, justice and human rights – which are all pre-requisites for Democracy to thrive.

For example, many African governments starting as early as 2011 began to enact a series of internet laws and regulations – out of the perceived fear that the internet would be used by adversary groups to undermine national security of their nations – a notion that was based out of fear, unsubstantiated and exaggerated narratives around the potential of criminal groups harming the cyber space of nation states. Countries like Uganda, Tanzania, Senegal, Kenya, Burundi, South Africa to mention but a few passed several draconian laws as measures to control the internet. Subsequently, the laws have been used to stifle rights of users, arrest journalists and activist and imprison those that are deemed critical of the regimes.

In Tanzania, Section 16 of the Cybercrime Act, 2015 makes it an offence to publish information, data or facts presented in a picture, text, symbol or any other form in a computer system, where such information, data or fact is false, deceptive, misleading or inaccurate. The political opposition, national and international human rights groups challenged the constitutionality of the law, but the Chief Justice, Mohammed Chande Othman, defended the law in a speech saying it was ‘enacted in good faith, to safeguard the right to privacy of Tanzanians’. According to the State of internet freedom in Africa 2019 report produced by CIPESA, these internet laws were used to undermine the works of activist groups such as Jamii Forums and consequently, the law were later used to imprison its leader.

Political leaders should not use internet as a tool to fight its own people but rather empower them, making them more heard and also to equally benefit from the opportunities that internet offers. Fighting internet users by African leaders through internet control measures evidenced by arrests, detention and imprisonment equals to fighting people who not only do they lead and are supposed to protect but those that enabled them to occupy positions of authority that they do hold. Unfortunately, when such leaders occupy such political seats in spite of how unpopular they become, they eventually use authoritarian means of statecraft to perpetuate their stay in power and further undermine democratic governance.

This tendency has undermined democratic values and meanings in Africa. Democracy in the context of African state is pseudo in character. The legitimacy of democratic outcomes in Africa is questionable as democratic contestation through elections doesn’t even meet the minimum standards of being free and fair. This is why it’s been argued by many critics that African Democracy is more of selections than elections as the process is flawed and pre-determined from the start. Apart from politicking, there is no substantial values that elections and democratic rhetoric contributes meaningfully to improving the life of an ordinary African citizen. Democracy that does not improve the health and living standards of a person, that undermines his or her right to speak, that marginalize a few and rewards cronies through patronage and violent misrule is flawed democracy. It has no meaning and significance. Its imported and does not reflect the reality of the common man.

In the year 1513, an Italian Philosopher by the name of Niccolo Machiavelli, in his masterpiece, The Prince, he wrote “It is better to be feared than loved”. Such a 16^th century statement of classical realism is not societal friendly in the digital generations of the 21^st century. Internet should be considered as the bridge between the society and the rulers, it should not be the river between the rulers and the society.

Internet must benefit all and deliberate efforts must be made to ensure that regardless of social classes, political affiliation, among others, this benefit accrues to everyone. After all, social classes within a given society depend on each other. The use of social media platforms by the society should not scare a regime – that perhaps have the legitimacy and monopoly of the use of violence. In fact, it should be in the interest of governments that internet users share freely what they perceive of their own governance and the rulers should use such platforms to listen, provide feedback and or adjust due to the needs of its people.

While these thoughts may be utopian in character, the principle lesson to learn is for leaders not to undermine the rights of the people that gets them to the top – those that they are supposed to protect, and those who sustain the country through taxation. Internet should be a place of peaceful co-existence and relationship between leaders and their electorates. Internet should be viewed as a platform that promotes free expression, internal democracy and limits chances of autocratic rule. When countries democratize, there is likelihood of peace. After all, democracies do not go to war with each other hence peace and stability – the central argument in the Democratic Peace thesis.

Opinion Co-Authored by:

Venance Leonard Jeston Ntahondi and Moses Owiny