Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa (CIPESA)

Articles by Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa (CIPESA)

Soldiers of the Malian Gendarmerie are seen wearing masks and gloves during a sanitizing operation of the central market in Bamako, 4 April 2020, MICHELE CATTANI/AFP via Getty Images

Covid-19 deepening Africa’s democratic regression

The response by African states to the Covid-19 pandemic focuses more on battering democracy, human rights and freedom of expression and less on solutions.

A man shows his COVID-19 vaccination card after receiving the injection at a hospital in Accra, Ghana, 2 March 2021, Xinhua/Seth via Getty Images

Technology a shot in the arm in West Africa’s fight against COVID-19

Telecommunications companies, civic groups and state entities in Ghana, Togo and Cote d’Ivoire harness the power of technology in fighting the Covid-19 pandemic.

A medical staff member measures a man's temperature as a preventive measure against Covid-19 upon his arrival of repatriation in Gatumba, Burundi, on the border with DRCongo, 18 March 2020, ONESPHORE NIBIGIRA/AFP via Getty Images

Africa’s handling of COVID-19 marred by abuse of power

The continent’s initially successful response to the pandemic was tainted by denialism, corruption and weaponisation of social media across several countries.

A blind Ugandan Parliamentarian types on a braille notemaker device that can print out braille documents and save notes and record speech, during a course on the technology in Newton, USA, 15 June 2018, John Tlumacki/Globe Staff (lmetro)

Equitable access to digital services needed for people with disabilities

Telecommunications companies in Nigeria and Kenya have failed to create products and services that care for persons with disabilities, according to a survey of operators.

A mobile phone vendor helps a customer at a stall in the market in Makeni, northern Sierra Leone, 5 March 2018, ISSOUF SANOGO/AFP via Getty Images

Namibia and Sierra Leone’s digital rights record under scrutiny during UPR process

Crucial UN Universal Periodic Review of Namibia and Sierra Leone puts spotlight on both countries’ digital and human rights records.

Young Somali refugee women look at a smartphone as they huddle together at the Dadaab refugee camp, in the north-east of Kenya, 16 April 2018, YASUYOSHI CHIBA/AFP via Getty Images

#WithoutFear initiative fights online harassment of women

Somali digital rights group Digital Shelter launches #WithoutFear initiative to raise awareness of the challenges faced by Somali women online, while providing a digital safety and security platform.

IEC (Independent Electoral Commission) barrier tape at a voting station during the by-elections, in Durban, South Africa, 11 November 2020, Darren Stewart/Gallo Images via Getty Images

South Africa’s Parliament rejects plan to introduce e-voting

The Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs rejects two proposals which could have seen the introduction of electronic voting in the country.

Ugandan electoral commission officials count ballot papers after the polls closed, at a polling station in Kampala, 14 January 2021, as people voted under heavy security and an internet blackout, SUMY SADURNI/AFP via Getty Images

Why access to information is essential for democracy in Africa

The all too common tendency to disrupt the internet during elections has a profound impact on socio-economic rights, such as the right to education, housing, health and social security.