Restrictions on WhatsApp in Zimbabwe

On the morning of 6 July, Zimbabweans woke up to find that access to the popular mobile phone messaging service WhatsApp had been restricted. The blockage is suspected to be a move by authorities to stop the main communication tool of choice for protesters that have taken to the streets of Harare and suburbs this week in response to what they deem bad governance and a faltering economy

As protests developed in the streets of Harare this week, the state-run newspaper The Chronicle reported that Minister of Information Communication Technology Supa Mandiwanzira was warning citizens against sending subversive messages on social media and that “those found on the wrong side of the law would be brought to book”.

The press freedom group Misa Zimbabwe describes the recent developments as a repeat of similar threats issued by President Mugabe in June where he publicly expressed annoyance with social media, implying that he would put Chinese-developed software to use to find a solution to Zimbabwe’s social media ‘problem’.

While it is still unknown whether the restrictions on WhatsApp was initiated by the government, Misa Zimbabwe points to the deafening silence of the country’s internet service providers and mobile network operators as a sign that they may have been pressured into shutting down services.

Currently, the government is close to having a monopoly in the mobile telephone service industry haven taken over over the Telecel Mobile service company in 2015, increasing state-owned mobile service providers to two. This is viewed by many as part of a strategy to control the sector for both economic and political reasons.

Restrictions like the one in Zimbabwe are part of a global tendency of internet shutdowns and restrictions that pose a real threat to human rights everywhere. IMS is fighting internet shutdowns and restrictions together with Access Now and over 70 organisations worldwide through the campaign #KeepItOn.

The Zimbabwean government is in the process of crafting a new ICT policy including a Cyber Law. In the pipeline is a plan to create a state run entity that will operate all online global gateways, thereby effectively placing the ability to grant access or “shut off” the internet in the hands of the state.

Meanwhile, a number of journalists have been arrested while covering clashes between police and protestors in the poorer suburbs of Harare. Four journalists from Alpha Media Holdings that publishes Newsday, Standard and Zimbabwe Independent, were briefly detained on 6 July while covering protests. They were ordered to delete their photos of the protests before they were released.

In addition to physical street clashes, “stay away” protests are also taking place in Zimbabwe, a type of action where citizens stay at home and close their businesses as a sign of discontent. The shutdown has resulted in at least 90 per cent of businesses closing down in the biggest cities of Harare and Bulawayo. Police clashes and arrests of protesters are being reported in Harare and Bulawayo. The state media however, report that the “stay away” has been a flop, declaring it is business as usual across the country.