Was the shutdown of internet in Zimbabwe Justified?
Zimbabweans are currently facing terrible internet restrictions. There were two days of total internet shutdown in Zimbabwe on the 16th and 17th of January; a directive given by the government to all internet providers. This directive followed after a citizen protest coined "#ShutdownZimbabwe" which came after an announcement of unprecedented increase in fuel prices. The #ShutdownZimbabwe protests gained momentum throughout the country, with civil servants which included teachers not going to work, public transport not ferrying passengers and all shops & businesses closing. However during the protests, there were incidences of violence, looting of shops, destruction & burning of property by some individuals and groups. This should be condemned. There was also police brutality on protesters and the hand of the state's security forces was heavy. Use of live ammunition was also reported. Our hearts go out to those who have since died as a result of these protests.
The United Nations and its Human Rights branches have already condemned the disregard for the rights of protesters and the brutally indiscriminate use of force.
During the shutdown social media applications like WhatsApp and Twitter were shutdown under a directive by the Zimbabwean government. The general populace and citizenry lamented their right to freedom of expression and access to media which the State in this directive blatantly disregarded. The youth have ha to bear the greatest negative effects of this social media shutdown as most use WhatsApp as their cheapest mode of communication and information sharing. Through WhatsApp youths find opportunities, share documents & books, and organise team work easily. Twitter is the most valuable tool in keeping informed about what's happening. Besides, most youth run businesses in which they use social media for marketing their commodities.
The biggest question which remains is?
• Was the government justified in this shutdown of internet and social media for the whole country?
The reason behind the internet Shutdown as given by the government was that because of the disturbances witnessed during the shutdown, peace and security were both highly compromised and threatened. In short the government has used the reason that social media has been used to perpetrate violence and disrupt peace to shutdown the internet and also gave reference to how through social media platforms citizens had self organized themselves. A few people during the shutdown, in moments were it was not a total blackout accessed blocked social media sites through bypass applications such as Super VPN among others.
Article by
Eric M. Moyo
Digital Grassroots Ambassador Community leader (Zimbabwe)
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