Nine digital right organisation in Africa has written to the Special Rapporteur’s – African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the United Nations – focused on freedom of opinion and expression and access to information asking for a lift on the restrictions on rights and freedoms during COVID-19 using cybercrimes legislations in Kenya and Nigeria.
The rights organisation under the auspice of African Internet Rights Alliance (or AIRA), submitted two joint letters strongly urging the two Special Rapporteurs to call on the Kenyan and Nigerian governments to place a moratorium on the use of cybercrimes legislation in both Kenya and Nigeria.
Specifically, the partner organisations called for a moratorium to be placed on the ‘fake news’ and cyber-harassment provisions in Kenya and the cyber-harassment and records- retention provisions in Nigeria.
The groups are also demanding that all charges imposed on any individuals under the CMCA, 2018 and the CA, 2015 be dropped.
“Review any current civil and/or criminal cases where persons have been fined and/or imprisoned using the provisions in the CA, 2015 and the CMCA, 2018; and
Initiate participatory and transparent processes to reform the CMCA, 2018 in Kenya and the CA, 2015 in Nigeria, whilst ensuring their strict compliance with regional and international standards relating to freedom of expression, privacy and media freedom.
“The situation in Kenya and Nigeria is dire, especially during the COVID-19 period where freedoms, particularly movement, access to courts, as well as economic and social rights are being curtailed owing to the Kenyan and Nigerian governments’ possession of extraordinary powers,” it further demanded.
The partner organisations of AIRA urged the two Special Rapporteur’s to publicly call on the governments of Kenya and Nigeria to ensure that their cybercrimes frameworks do not restrict fundamental rights and freedoms during the COVID-19 pandemic.
AIRA has organisations span across the continent to include Article 19 Eastern Africa, The Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa (CIPESA), Co-Creation Hub, The Centre for Intellectual Property and Information Technology Law (CIPIT), iHub, Kenya ICT Action Network ( KICTANet), Legal Resource Centre (LRC), Paradigm Initiative, Amnesty International and BudgIT.
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