Spotlight on Africa

A new report published by advocacy group Internet Without Borders says that telecoms companies operating in Europe and Africa are affording their users different digital rights. The study compares Orange and Vodafone’s subsidiaries to ask whether users in Senegal and Kenya are given the same right to access, use and create digital media as well as access and use devices and networks. The research provides a detailed assessment of respect for freedom of expression and privacy, concluding that users in Europe are treated differently to those in sub-Saharan Africa. Spotlight on Africa spoke to Julie Owono, Executive Director, Internet Without Borders…

Update Orange and its Senegalese subsidiary Sonatel have since responded to some of the questions raised in this piece.

Why did you decide to carry out this study?

These operators, specifically Orange and Vodafone, have quite good records in terms of the freedom of expression of users and privacy. We were wondering if these two telecommunication operators perform the same way in sub-Saharan Africa. Unfortunately, we found that there were important differences on how these two companies behave when they are in Europe, in the EU, and when they are in sub-Saharan Africa.

Starting with pre-paid mobile services because these are some of the most popular on the continent – do you think users get the same terms and conditions in Senegal and Kenya as in Europe?

The terms and conditions is basically the contract which is signed between the operator and the user. It’s also a document where the user will have better understanding of what he or she can do on the operator’s network - information on when and why the network might be cut off for technical or other reasons. But unfortunately, we found two things – in the case of Orange in Senegal, we found that these terms and conditions are missing. They are not published on the website and it's worrying because the obligation to inform the user is a basic contractual obligation. The user has to know what he or she can do on the network of the operator. By not publishing such terms and conditions, Orange Senegal places itself in a very uncomfortable position, where we don’t know if Orange Senegal receives an illegal order, for instance to shut down the internet, we don’t know how the operator will respond to that order received from the government. In the case of Safaricom in Kenya, although the terms and conditions are published, unfortunately they are not very clear. Clear, meaning they are not accessible to the user; the language used might be perceived as very legal. The terms are not put in a very simple way for a basic user to understand. Most importantly, they are not very precise especially on issues of network interruption. We only know that the operator reserves the right to shut down the network whenever the operator finds it necessary to do so, but we don’t know why it may be necessary for the operator to shut down the network.

You’re saying that the terms and conditions in Senegal and Kenya allow the network operators to shut down the internet whenever they want?

It leaves space for very worrying practices which we can be seen on the continent. It’s not science fiction to fear that a shutdown might happen because shutdowns have happened in several countries in sub-Saharan Africa whether it is in west or east Africa. So that’s why we’re particularly worried that these two major operators in these two major countries - which are considered as democracies compared to many other countries – its worrying that the rule of law is not clear. We hope that as leaders they will drive the market up, as they are leaders, they will show the way to others – other operators and other countries. That’s something that we think is very important for the sub-Saharan Africa market.

Another area you focus on is privacy, whether these companies respect users’ personal data. What did you discover here?

Again we discovered that Orange in Senegal does not publish a privacy policy on its website. So it’s very important to publish a privacy policy because in a privacy policy a user can know what data of his or hers is collected by the operator. With whom is it shared, which third party has access to this data, whether it is government, whether it is other companies. The user has a right to know and this is not an obligation that was made up by Internet Without Borders. It’s an obligation that exists even under Senegalese law. There’s a law on personal data which was adopted by the country and which created a commission to protect personal data.

Does that mean that the operator in Senegal could, for example, be compiling lists of the telephone numbers that you dial and selling those lists on?

It’s possible. We’ve received complaints – of course, we’re not a judicial body. But we’ve received complaints from users, from citizens who tells us that they’ve received SMS messages that they’ve never asked for before. We don’t know, we’re asking – it would be important to publish that privacy policy in order for the operator to explain that it is taking all the necessary measures to protect the personal data of its users. By publishing the privacy policy, it would also allow the users to know how they are protected, who has access to these servers. We talk about cyber security and cyber criminality in Africa at the moment – so it’s also important, not only to talk about the criminals, but also to talk about steps that are taken to prevent criminals from entering servers. Publishing the privacy policy is very important and we’ve seen that in the case of Safaricom. We’ve worked in Kenya with an association, International Association of Women in Radio and Television, a group of journalists in Kenya, who are particularly interested in gender-based violence committed through digital services or digital platforms. In one of their reports, they’ve highlighted cases of women who were harassed by former spouses or after any sort of relationship, and didn’t understand how their data, their new data, their new numbers, got into the hands of their former spouse. So, these are questions that we’ve asked Safaricom – in reality, it can translate into very disturbing situations for particular people.

Why do you think that these companies that operate both in Europe and in Africa treat their respective users so differently, according to what you say?

The first factor is the awareness of people, of citizens, of civil society, organisations such as ours, but also in sub-Saharan Africa. The idea that digital rights are human rights is very new - preserving freedom of expression online is as important as preserving it offline. So this is the work that organisations such as Internet Without Borders is trying to do – raising the awareness of other civil society organisations, raising the awareness of citizens on the importance of digital rights. The other elements which could explain such low performance could be that local legal environments may not be strong enough compared to the existing threats. Some of these laws may need to be updated.

If this is the case, then isn’t this the responsibility of the countries in which these companies operate, to ensure that they put in place laws that govern these areas and then force the companies to adhere to these laws.

This questions makes us think of a particular situation – in 2017 Orange Cameroon was one of the network operators which agreed to shut down the internet to English-speaking regions of Cameroon upon receiving an illegal order from the Cameroonian government. We asked them, ‘why did you agree to obey this order?’ and they responded that they were just obeying the law. Which is true, but also not quite true because indeed the first entity responsible for the protection of human rights is states. But there was a set of principles that were adapted by the UN in 2011 - a charter called the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, which says governments have the responsibility to uphold and protect human rights. But companies, which have such important roles in our societies today, also have the responsibility to uphold these human rights. One of ways to apply this responsibility is to help the legal environment evolve whenever it’s not up-to-date compared to the international obligations of the states in terms of human rights, freedom of expression and privacy. That’s why we’re saying that it’s not enough to say that the government is responsibility for protecting human rights because we know that certain states have a problem with the rule of law. But we also think that other actors, such as civil society, but also companies, every layer of civil society, including the private sector, plays a role in protecting democracy and human rights. Sometimes the government is not able to protect these rights.

*Update - 16 February 2018 Orange and its Senegalese subsidiary has since responded to some of the questions raised in this piece. In a statement, it said it would like to underline the following points:

All customers do in fact receive the terms & conditions for prepaid mobile offers on the day of their subscription to an Orange SIM card. Sonatel pays a particular attention to the selected sales points where SIM cards can be sold to ensure the strict respect of all necessary legal obligations. It should be noted that, given the current drive in Africa to ensure that SIM-card holders are correctly identified with an ID card and registered, these sales points are rigorously controlled.

In addition, the SIM distributors also sign a distribution contract with Sonatel in which they explicitly make the commitment to provide customers with the necessary terms & conditions documents.

These same terms & conditions for prepaid mobile offers are also available upon request in all sales points.

Sonatel respects the rights of its customers with regards to their personal data and makes all the necessary declarations to the relevant authority in Senegal, the CDP, with respect to the use of this data.

The terms and conditions for fixed-line / internet offers can be found on the company’s website at https://www.orange.sn/2/particuliers/1/3/orange-legal-285.html. The terms & conditions for prepaid mobile offers are not available on the website for the simple reason that it cannot be assumed at the present time in the Senegalese market that most mobile customers have access to the Web. The provision of documents in sales points, where all prepaid customers go to register or recharge their offers, is a certain method to reach all customers. [The report you mention in your questions tends to project European habits onto an African context without thinking about whether this is accurate].

Sonatel respects the laws and regulations in every country in which it operates. Whether or not a Senegalese operator respects French law is not really an appropriate question.

Freedom of expression has deteriorated under Zambia’s President Edgar Lungu, according to a leading musician who fled the country after receiving death threats. Fumba Chama, who goes by the stage name Pilato, fled Zambia at the start of January following a series of intimidating messages. His song Koswe Mumpoto (Rat in the pot) was seen as critical of the government and resulted in menacing voice and video messages. Rights group Amnesty International described the threats to Pilato’s life as a “brazen” attempt to silence dissenting views. The singer-songwriter has been charged with “disobedience of lawful order” due to his participation in a protest during September in front of the country’s parliament building, according to the country's state broadcaster. Spotlight on Africa spoke to Pilato about his controversial song, the death threats he received and its implications for free speech in Zambia…

Nearly one thousand people have been arrested in Tunisia in the biggest wave of social unrest since the revolution. Anger at new austerity measures has brought hundreds of Tunisians back onto the streets with the same demands they did back in 2011. Seven years on, protesters say the government has failed to live up to the promises of the Arab Spring.

They work as pilots, potters or footballers, sometimes against incredible odds, to build a better future for themselves and their families. Now for the first time, more than two hundred women are being honoured in a new book called "Portraits of Chadian Women", by artists Salma Khalil and Aché Coelo, who are challenging the way society sees African women.

They work as pilots, potters or footballers, sometimes against incredible odds, to build a better future for themselves and their families. Now for the first time, more than two hundred women are being honoured in a new book called "Portraits of Chadian Women", by artists Salma Khalil and Aché Coelo, who are challenging the way society sees African women.

It was a sweltering day in March when Salma Khalil first began work on her joint project with fellow artist Aché Coelo to capture the beauty of Chadian women.

One stood out in particular.

"I saw her sweating in the middle of piles of sand," says Khalil.

"In the beginning I thought she had used a machine, then afterwards I discovered that she had dug the ground herself, using just a shovel and a pick."

The woman she describes is Ambaddo Dana, one of two hundred women captured by the photographer for a new book called "Portraits of Chadian Women."

"We tried to show the world that women in Chad, of course are equal and able to work like men, but we are not in a competition," explains Coelo, who provided the text accompanying the photos.

"We just took the opportunity with this project to promote the powerful and the daily fight that women in Chad are facing to live, to survive and to take care of their family," she told RFI.

The women are potters, fish-sellers, and also pilots, who have succeeded thanks to the support of their parents.

Fighting prejudice

"Being a Chadian woman is first of all being a strong person, because life here is sometimes very hard, and this is what our book shows," comments Khalil, who's also the founder of an association called Positive aimed at empowering women.

The 35-year old painter and photographer is positive herself. That's who the Chadian woman is, she says, "because every day you have to fight hard to live."

What is she fighting against?

Prejudice replies Coelo. "One of the ladies in the book was turned down the first time she went for a job interview. She was told this is not for her, this is something for men. She said let me just try and you will see if I am not able to do it."

Three months later, she proved her worth. "The employer was like wow, I need you to do this job," exclaims Coelo.

"We have to prove to people that we are able to do something before they can trust us and this is very challenging."

Changing perceptions of the Chadian woman

The 32-year old film director and sociologist says she's grateful to the French embassy in N'djamena for funding the one-year project.

Just as she is towards the First Lady of Chad for attending the book's launch on Saturday 16 December.

"It was a big surprise for us to see the First Lady coming for the launching," says Coelo. "This meant a lot to us, and personally for me, as an artist, as a woman, as a young person."

Since the book's launch, reactions have been flooding in.

"Most of the people will call us to congratulate us, and they say so this is what a Chadian woman can do," jubilates Khalil.

"This the first time that we’ve had books like it in Chad I have to tell it, and people for example on Facebook, on the Internet, they keep on encouraging us to work in this way because in Chad we have problem of education."

Cultural barriers and tradition continue to bar so many girls from getting a good education.

"We cannot fight for our rights when we are not educated," insists Khalil, "but if we can leave an example to our young brothers and sisters it’s very important."

What finally led to the fall of Robert Mugabe on 21 November? The liberation leader turned authoritarian president was toppled by his erstwhile allies, the war veterans. So what sparked their divorce?

What finally led to the fall of Robert Mugabe on 21 November? The liberation leader turned authoritarian president was toppled by his erstwhile allies, the war veterans. So what sparked their divorce?

Zimbabwe was plunged into chaos on Tuesday 14 November when soldiers and tanks were seen heading towards the capital Harare.

"There were soldiers at strategic points, no police to be seen, and that was a tip-off that something major was happening," Knox Chitiyo, an Associate Fellow at London-based thinktank Chatham House who was in Zimbabwe at the time.

"People were uncertain of what was happening and whether there would be a heavy police presence, a heavy military presence. People got home OK, because we called each other afterwards, but the absence of police told you that something major was happening."

Zimbabweans long accustomed to seeing police roadblocks at every corner, woke up to find the military in charge and President Robert Mugabe placed under house arrest.

"It was extremely shocking," Miles Tendi, a Zimbabwean writer and lecturer at Oxford University, who specialises in civil-military relations, told RFI.

"Going on the literature, a coup in Zimbabwe was highly unlikely, so, when it came to pass, it took many of us aback, probably all of us, I don't think anyone predicted that this would occur."

When is a coup not a coup?

The military insisted it wasn't a coup and that they were targeting "criminals" within Mugabe's entourage, who they claimed "had brought the country to the brink of economic collapse."

"But the speed at which events have moved, wasn't so surprising because the army was very aware that they couldn't let this drag on for too long."

The country's political uncertainty was sparked by Mugabe's sacking of his former vice-president now turned president Emmerson Mnangagwa, allegedly in a bid to allow his wife Grace to take over.

That was the final straw says Robert Besseling, Executive Director of risk firm EXX Africa.

"Mnangagwa has had links with the security and the military since the days of the liberation struggle. He played a key role in many of the military interventions in Zimbabwean politics, and the fact that he was removed was seen by those allies of his in the military as removing a key leader of theirs in the ruling party."

But few had predicted that the internal squabbles of the ruling Zanu-PF party, would spill over to the army and set it on a collision course with the president.

So how did we get here? And why did the war veterans, the men who fought alongside Robert Mugabe during Zimbabwe's liberation war against a white-minority regime, now lead the charge against him?

War veterans threaten Mugabe

"The war veterans and the military had given Mugabe a lot of warning shots," explains Knox Chitiyo.

"It looks like something that happened overnight, but from the time the War Veterans Association released a declaration last year, saying 'Look, we're not happy with the way Mugabe is running the country, we're not happy with the way he's running the party and we're removing him as our patron,' that was a massive warning."

In July 2016 the war veterans withdrew their support from Mugabe, calling on him to uproot the rot of corruption that was eating away at the country.

"The war veterans have always been one constituency that Mugabe could not ignore," Chitiyo says.

A letter of their demands made public expressed their frustration, that was already apparent in 1997, he recalls.

"In 1997 they demanded payouts for compensation, for the injuries they'd received during the war. The government had been very reluctant to do that, but they said to Mugabe 'If you don't give us this, we brought you in and we can remove you'."

"He read the mood well and realised this was very, very serious. I think what's happened now is that I think he felt he could substitute the support of the war veterans with the support of the Women's and Youth league, who supported his wife."

Underestimated Mnangagwa's support

The 93-year old also underestimated the determination of the war veterans and the military to see Mnangagwa suceed him, adds Knox.

"In a sense he misread the mood."

Mugabe's links with the war veterans are steeped in Zimbabwe's struggle against Ian Smith's white-minority government that followed British colonial rule. But Miles Tendi says the president was moving away from that history.

"Over the years, Mugabe had gradually begun to marginalise figures from the 1970s liberation war. And the military command, the present one is comprised of young commanders from that time. And they saw through his distancing of himself from that war generation a threat to their own interests."

A sacking, crowning and euphoria

The veterans have long wanted Emmerson Mnangagwa, who was sacked by Mugabe on 6 November, to succeed him. On Sunday 19 November, Mnangagwa was appointed leader of Zimbabwe's ruling Zanu-PF party after Mugabe was ousted as its leader.

News of Mugabe's removal from the leadership of the party he founded; was met with scenes of euphoria on the streets of Harare and, after a short interlude, by his resignation as president.

"Of course there's a lot of euphoria on the ground," comments Tendi. "He's been in charge for almost four decades, to put it bluntly: he was almost an irremovable object: But I'm slightly more cautious with regards to what comes after."

Tendi says the "individuals who engineered the de-facto coup are the same individuals who've kept him [Mugabe] in power for the last four decades."

So he has doubts about the ability of the military-backed transitional government to deliver the change Zimbabweans expect.

"Probably what we'll see are cosmetic reforms just enough to pacify the international community, to secure support, but not deep enough to result in a loss of power for the Zanu-PF ruling party," he says.

Misogyny and Grace Mugabe

As for Mugabe, he appears to have lost the support of the military leaders who had kept him in power by siding with his wife, Grace, in the succession battle.

"Look, she is an unpopular figure for a variety of reasons but I think she has been unfairly targeted," Miles recoknos, pointing to the "misogyny" of Zimbabwean politics.

"You have the leader of the war veterans, Chris Mutsvangwa, saying that Grace Mugabe was promiscuous, that she was having sexual relations with all the members of the G40 group [faction within ruling Zanu-PF that supported her] and that's why they were loyal to her. So, part of the focus on Grace has been that: a sexist misogny."

Opposition divided

The internal squabbles within Zanu-PF come just months before the nation goes to the polls to vote for a new president.

The opposition are unlikely to benefit from that infighting, says Tendi, because "they've been very divided as well and are mostly broke".

Furthermore Zanu-PF has managed to get itself a younger leader, he says, whereas historic opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai's health is poor.

That's not his only problem.

"Morgan Tsvangira's stand as an opposition leader was in juxtaposition to Robert Mugabe," says Tendi. "His campaign was always 'Mugabe must go'. Now that fight has gone because Mugabe has gone, he must reinvent himself to take on this new challenge that Emmerson Mnangwa presents."

"We can't eat elections"

While elections are scheduled for next year, Knox argues that people are more concerned with jobs than polls.

"Right now what people are most interested in is jobs: people say we can't eat elections, so it will be interesting to see how it will play out."

Despite the uncertainty, many Zimbabweans have hopes for a better future, as  embodied by Henry Olonga's 2000 hit song Our Zimbabwe, which has been filling the airwaves of state broadcaster ZBC since the military takeover.

The song's call for unity and hope was echoed in mass demonstrations on 18 November calling on Mugabe to resign, protests that, unprecedentedly, were supported by the war veterans.

The controversial leader, respected for his role in Zimbabwe's liberation struggle and loathed for his authoritarian rule, succeeded, in his last days, in uniting Zimbabweans against him.

Tuesday 14 November marks one month since a truck bomb exploded in the Somali capital Mogadishu, killing hundreds of people – many of whom were never identified. It was the worst bomb attack in the history of Somalia. In Britain, home to the largest Somali community in Europe, members feel the world has already forgotten the tragedy.

In Uganda, up to nine people, including senior police officers, are being investigated for allegedly kidnapping the former bodyguard of Rwanda's President Paul Kagame. A Rwandan ex-general and a Congolese national have also been charged with espionage in connection with the case. It's feared the arrests could put new strain on relations between Kampala and Kigali.

Barrister Akere Muna recently announced that he is to stand in Cameroon’s 2018 presidential election. In the context of unrest in the anglophone part of the country, the anti-corruption campaigner's decision has aroused crticism from his fellow English-speakers. Talking to RFI, he defended his decision.