EXEMPLUM HORRIBILIS
BELIEVE it or not, the internet shutdown in Anglophone Cameroon is still a thing. For about 20percent of the population living in the Central African country’s North-west and South-west regions, web access is a luxury they last enjoyed well over a month ago.
The blockage has turned many Cameroonians into broadband nomads who have been forced to journey to Francophone cities such as Doula and Yaounde to get connected.
Internet access was cut off on January 17 after months of protests in Anglophone Cameroon against French being declared the country’s first language; for use in educational and judicial institutions.
Of Cameroon’s 10 regions, eight are French-speaking, while English is spoken in two. For English-speaking Cameroonians, this language issue has become a proxy for economic marginalisation – a grievance that many have long held against the country’s mostly-Francophone central government.
As it happens, much of the country’s most significant tech and innovation growth has occurred in Anglophone Cameroon, aided in part by the fact that people there communicate with the rest of the world in English.
The capital city of the country’s South-west Region, Buea – affectionately known as Cameroon’s “Silicon Mountain” – has been especially negatively impacted, as many of the country’s most promising startups based there have had to stop operating altogether.
This prolonged broadband shutdown is being seen by some as a vindictive act by President Paul Biya’s government to show Anglophone Cameroon who is boss, and officials have demonstrated a determination to stick to their guns despite leading local tech entrepreneurs such as Rebecca Enonchong, and international advocacy groups such as Internet Sans Frontières and Access Now, demanding the internet be switched back on.
The hashtag #BringBackOurInternet has garnered tons of local and international support on social media in the past few weeks, even inspiring Edward Snowden to tweet the following: “This is the future of repression. If we do not fight it there, it will happen here. #KeepItOn”.
Internet access was cut off in January after months of protests in Anglophone Cameroon against French being declared the country’s first language.
Loss of confidence
Internet Sans Frontières and Access Now have estimated that the country lost at least $723 000 (R9 million) in the first 15 days of the blackout.
They have argued that the outage has also resulted in an inestimable loss of confidence in the government’s much-publicised commitment to supporting Cameroon’s fledgling tech scene.
The broader implications of this debacle are worrying. More and more African nations are demonstrating a willingness to shut off their citizens’ access to the web on a whim – often in the name of promoting national security, as was the case in Uganda last year.
You might recall that during Uganda’s most closely contested election in decades, incumbent President Yoweri Museveni, beat out seven other candidates including his former doctor, Kizza Besigye, and ex-prime minister, Amama Mbabazi.
Despite polls leading up to the election showing Museveni had a comfortable lead over his nearest rival, a government-ordered social media blackout was instituted during the election. Many commentators believed the move was an attempt to prevent a run-off with the second-ranked contender.
Nevertheless, Museveni eventually won 60percent of the popular vote.
Following the result, the question had to be asked: was this a legitimate attempt to keep elections free and fair, or simply an outright violation of human rights?
Leading up to Ghana’s national elections last November, the country’s top policeman issued a statement saying that social media access might be blocked to ensure Ghana’s national security on election day. Thankfully, Ghana’s InspectorGeneral of Police, John Kudalor, did not follow through on that threat, but authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo most certainly did instruct mobile networks to block social networks ahead of President Joseph Kabila’s term in office expiring last December.
More recently, reports have surfaced suggesting that Kenya’s Communication Authority might shut down the internet during the country’s general elections in August.
The Kenyan government has claimed that such action might be necessary to prevent a repeat of the post-election violence that saw 1 500 people murdered and 600 000 others displaced in 2007/2008.
Sadly, Cameroon is continuing to set a handy precedent for Kenya and other African nations to follow should they wish to impose internet shutdowns of their own.