Politics

Kenya threatens to shut down Facebook over hate speech ahead of elections

Published

2 years ago

July 29, 2022

Ahead of the August 9 general elections, the Kenyan goverment has threatened to shut down Facebook over a splurge of hate speeches being circulated by politicians and their supporters.

The Kenyan National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC), the body saddled with the responsibility of checkmating the media in the east African country, on Thursday, gave the social media company seven days to adhere to “recommendations on taming online hate speech on its platform in the country” following uts failure to improve content moderation on hate speech in the run-up to the elections.

The agency in a statement, accused Meta, Facebook’s parent company, of “reluctance to take action to combat the spread of hate speech, propaganda and disinformation, escalating the risk of violence ahead of the elections.”

The commission also tasked Facebook to urgently “increase the number of content moderators in Kenya as well as expanding its capacity to cover content expressed even in indigenous languages, and deploy integrity systems to mitigate risk before, during and after the upcoming Kenyan election.”

The NCIC Commissioner, Dr Danvas Makori, said Facebook’s inaction toward the inappropriate content on its platform is an outright violation of the Kenyan Constitution and threatens the peace of the country, especial during this election period.

“The freedom of expression does not extend to propaganda, incitement to violence, hate speech, or advocacy of hatred.

“Facebook violates our laws because they have allowed themselves to be a medium of hate speech, incitement, misinformation, and disinformation,” he said.

Dr Makori said the commission has already engaged Meta’s representative in the country and informed them of the requirements ahead of the elections, adding that failure to adhere to the country’s regulations could lead to a total ban of the company’s operations in the country.

Politics

Ghana: President-elect Mahama appoints anti-corruption team

Published

3 hours ago

December 19, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

According to a statement released by his transition team on Wednesday, Ghana’s President-elect, John Dramani Mahama, has designated an anti-corruption committee to investigate allegations of wrongdoing.

When he takes office next month, Mahama, the leading opposition candidate in the presidential election held on December 7 and who received almost 56% of the vote, has pledged to reclaim the proceeds of corruption and hold those responsible for it accountable.

In anticipation, an anti-graft squad has been established. The parliament’s Committee on Assurances, which has previously raised suspicions of governmental corruption, is chaired by MP Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwah.

An investigative journalist, a private attorney, a former auditor general, and a former police officer with experience in high-profile robbery cases make up the other three members.

After looking into alleged financial irregularities that took place during the previous administration, Daniel Dumelovo, the former auditor general, was fired.

Recovering lost assets and fighting corruption were two of Mahama’s main campaign pledges.

“He intends to hit the ground running on these commitments,” the statement said.

Eight years after leaving office, former President Mahama is back to head the West African country. Despite not being personally contaminated, he faced criticism during his 2012–2016 administration due to claims of political corruption.

Politics

Egyptian court upholds ex-presidential candidate Ahmed Tantawy’s sentence

Published

1 day ago

December 18, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Former presidential candidate, Ahmed Tantawy, and his campaign manager, Mohamed Abou El-Diar, were found guilty of faking election paperwork, and given a one-year jail term with labour by an Egyptian court, Tantawy’s legal team announced Tuesday.

Last year, Tantawy was the most well-known candidate to run against Abdel Fattah al-Sisi for a third term, winning 89.6% of the vote.

To avoid receiving the necessary number of public endorsements to be on the ballot, he halted his campaign before to the election, alleging harassment and arrests directed at hundreds of his family members and associates.

Egyptian authorities criticised Tantawy’s tactic of distributing unapproved copies of endorsement forms to garner popular support, but they denied any misconduct.

Egypt’s Misdemeanour Appeals Court upheld the May court ruling on Monday, which prohibits Tantawy from seeking public office for five years and mandates that he pay a fine of 20,000 Egyptian pounds ($395).

Tantawy’s defence team member and well-known human rights attorney Khaled Ali said in a Facebook post on Tuesday that the appeals procedure was riddled with anomalies.

Ali said lawyers struggled for months to confirm court dates, with hearings appearing absent from official schedules and case files missing from court registries.

The public prosecution was not immediately available to comment on the ruling or on Ali’s allegations over the process.