Zambians Resort to VPNs After Social Media Blockage

By Ashemiriogwa Emmanuel

Citizens of Zambia are now resorting to Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) to communicate and share information as the Zambian government has reportedly blocked some social media platforms during the general elections in the country.

As a result, social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram have been restricted on multiple internet providers in Zambia amid presidential and parliamentary elections.

Data from digital rights organisation, Access Now, confirmed the blockage of messaging apps such as Messenger and WhatsApp.

According to reports from Zambian-based Lusaka Times, officials of Zambia’s Ministry of Information and Broadcast Services said they had shut internet access in order to curtail the spread of wrong information during the election.

The fear of misinformation and consequent social media blackout is drawing from the fact that Zambia’s elections are hotly contested, with the governing Patriotic Front (PF) and the main opposition, the United Party for National Development (UPND) claiming that the PF has not met the expectations of Zambians.

According to a spokesperson for the Zambian government, Mr Amos Malupenga, the government will not tolerate abuse of the internet and if any mischief occurs, there would be no hesitation to take appropriate measures.

“The government, therefore, expects citizens to use the internet responsibly. But if some people choose to abuse the internet to mislead and misinform, the government will not hesitate to invoke relevant legal provisions to forestall any breakdown of law and order as the country passes through the election period,” Mr Malupenga said.

Business Post understands that the election, which is keenly contested by incumbent President Edgar Lungu and opposition leader Hakainde Hichilema, has already been engulfed by violence.

The restriction on social media has, therefore, prevented voters in the republic from communicating via the internet at the critical moment and has also affected state-owned internet providers and other private networks.

This has included Zambia among other countries in the region that have faced internet shutdowns and social media restrictions during elections.

To this effect, voters affected in Zambia have now resorted VPNs which enables them to access these restricted platforms by hiding their data and IP addresses from the network monitor of government agencies.

Zambia is the latest African country to join the list of countries with full or partial Internet restrictions. The others are Cameroon, Uganda, Tanzania, Togo and Nigeria.