Elections and power in the digital age

These prosecutions mark a rising pattern: as elections approach across Africa, the distance between digital civic space and state power grows

- House of Seshat

In solidarity: This group of protesters condemning violence against young people in Kenya, do so at a time when illegal and unconstitutional detentions are common and crackdown legislation is consistently used to block peaceful gatherings in Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania and Zimbabwe. Photo: Ezekiel Aminoga

(Ezekiel Aminoga)

n July 2024, a 24-year-old Ugandan TikToker received a six-year prison sentence for insulting Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni and his family in videos.

That same month, a former government official faced similar charges for postings on X criticising the Speaker of Parliament.

Big Tech platforms have become the continent's civic infrastructure, reshaping political visibility and participation in ways unimaginable 20 years ago.

Almost 15 years ago, we witnessed the Arab Spring, which spread widely due to social media. Yet these platforms operate mostly according to design logics and commercial imperatives built for Western markets, creating a profound asymmetry.

African publics depend on platforms whose governance structures remain largely opaque and unaccountable to the users whose political and social lives they now impact and influence.

In Africa, 384 million people now use social media, representing 8% of global users but growing rapidly.

This expansion coincides with shrinking offline civic space. Opposition figures and their supporters continue to face frequent beatings during gatherings, while illegal and unconstitutional detentions are common and crackdown legislation is consistently used to block peaceful gatherings in Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania and Zimbabwe.

Traditional media faces parallel pressure. Broadcast licences get suspended. Journalists face intimidation and numerous assaults. The spaces where Africans once debated governance publicly have systematically closed.