Free-speech muzzling law

Some people may be wondering why I shut down my “nkalangaunozwida” blog. Well, there are several reasons, most significant of which is the imminent tabling of a “cybercrime law”. This is a draconian piece of legislation. In the guise of outlawing criminal behaviour such as online child pornography, cyber stalking, cyber bullying, the law will effectively silence not only social media, but mainstream news media as well:

“A person who wilfully, maliciously or repeatedly uses electronic communication of an offensive nature to disturb or attempt to disturb the peace, quiet or privacy of any person with no purpose to legitimate communication, whether or not a conversation ensues, commits an offence and is liable to a fine not exceeding P20 000 or to imprisonment of a term not exceeding one year, or both.”

The strife that is expected to characterise the next general elections in 2019 as a result of the Government outlawing use of a paper ballot at elections, and replacing such ballot with an electronic voting machine (EVM), is the probable reason why draconian legislation has to be aimed at computer use.

A strange facet of the legislation is the recurring phrase “by means of a computer or a computer system…” It is as if the intention is less about outlawing criminal activity than it is about outlawing use of a computer.  For example, it has always been a crime to “insult another person on the basis of race, colour, descent, nationality, ethnic origin, tribe or religion” regardless of the method by which such insult is uttered. The proposed bill’s pronouncement:

“A person who, by means of a computer or a computer system, insults another person on the basis of race, colour, descent, nationality, ethnic origin, tribe or religion commits an offence and is liable to a fine not exceeding P40 000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or to both” 

clearly shows that the computer and not the act per se, is being targeted for outlawing by this law.

In this day and age there is hardly any human activity that is done without use of a computer or computer system. Cameras, phones, note pads all have computers embedded in them. The law proposes to outlaw taking of photographs at accident scenes, purportedly to protect families of accident victims from seeing their maimed or killed relatives on social media before they are “officially” informed by the police. What this means is that relatives will first have to apply for police permission to take photographs at accident scenes. If the supposed “police” were somehow implicated in the “traffic-accident” you can imagine how difficult it would be, especially for relatives, to get permission to photograph such an “accident” scene! In a continent where “Intelligence Services” routinely arrange the demise of opposition activists in “traffic accidents”, outlawing of cameras at “accident” scenes might be just what the doctor ordered; for the “Security Services” of course.

Some people may wonder why there seems to be little or no civil society opposition to the proposed draconian legislation.  Close examination reveals a carefully laid out plan by the ruling party to blackmail the parliamentary opposition into helping pass the bill with very few, if any obstacles. There has been a rumour doing rounds in the press, that some prominent ruling party political leaders are in possession of illegally acquired and highly compromising extra-marital sex videos of some prominent opposition political leader/s, which videos they are threatening to release into cyberspace just before the 2019 general elections. Given such a scenario it is understandable why the concerned opposition political personalities and their supporters would be keen to support the proposed “anti-cybercrime” draconian legislation. The ruling party has almost literally grabbed the opposition by the b…..ls.

And so dear reader, this blog “myikalanga.blogspot.com” hereby falls silent too.