24 As aforementioned, there have been several attempts by governments in Africa to regulate or censor the internet space. The law, more so the legislative wheel has been relied on as a vehicle to impact the exercise of rights online. Countries in Southern Africa have relied on both old and existent legislation and also new laws to regulate enjoyment of digital rights. For instance in Zimbabwe, the government has relied on laws like the Criminal Law Codification and Reform Act (Criminal Law Code) to inhibit the exercise of freedom of expression online. The specific provisions that have been notorious include: • Section 22(2) (a) (iii) on subverting a constitutional government and in the alternative, of the Code after expressing his displeasure against fuel shortages and price hikes which matter was also dismissed. • Section 31 (a) (iii) on publishing or communicating falsehoods prejudicial to the State. • Section 33 on undermining the authority of or insulting the President • Section 36(1) (a) on inciting the public to commit public violence Similarly, in Zambia such provisions exist in the Penal Code. The Penal Code grants the president absolute discretion to ban publications regarded as contrary to public interest and also the criminalisation of publication of false news with intent to cause fear and alarm. These provisions from both Zimbabwe and Zambia infringe on media freedom and freedom of expression especially the capacity by individuals to demand transparency and accountability. These also prevent the citizens from criticising the government or the president yet the capacity to do that is what forms the basic tenets of democracy. With regards to new and or proposed legislation, Zimbabwe gazetted a Cybersecurity and Data Protection Bill in May 2020, which allows the use of forensic tools like keystroke loggers that are highly invasive tools without providing for judicial oversight on the use of such tools. (10) The Bill also has provisions that criminalise communication of false information despite that there is a Constitutional Court order from the case of Chimakure and two others v Attorney General where false news offences were regarded as unconstitutional as they infringe on freedom of expression and promote self-censorship. The framing of such provision, which is wide and vague will also potentially resuscitate criminal defamation, which was similarly outlawed in the case of Madanhire and Another versus the Attorney General. (11) The above clearly indicates an attempt by governments to limit exercise of digital rights by entrenching surveillance and providing loopholes in legislation that create room for government monitoring and tracking of citizens and subsequently violation of the right to privacy. This, however, does not wish away the importance of developing cybersecurity and data protection frameworks. ARRESTS FOR ONLINE COMMUNICATION In the enforcement of the above laws, governments in Southern Africa have arrested and detained citizens, activists and journalists on charges based on their online communication on platforms like Facebook and Twitter. Of note in Zimbabwe, were the three arrests between July 2020 and January 2021 of prominent freelance journalists Hopewell Chin’ono, who is popularly known for exposing corruption related to the procurement of Covid-19 materials in Zimbabwe. The exposures led to the sacking and the arrest of the then Minister of Health Obadiah Moyo. On the three occasions Chin’ono was arrested on charges of inciting public violence, obstructing the course of justice and communicating falsehoods. (12) This serves to explicitly show the weaponisation of the legal and justice system by the government in Zimbabwe to silence opposition and or critics of the government. This also points to the monitoring of social media platforms by the government thus contributing to the fear by citizens to freely express themselves online. In In April of 2019, Tumpale Makibinga, a Malawian young man, was arrested for a meme he posted on social media, which according to the prosecutor, ridiculed and undermined First Lady Gertrude Mutharika. Makibinga was arrested for insulting the modesty of a woman, cyber violation and offensive communication. (13) By arresting the likes of Makibinga, the security forces were setting a bad precedent not only on the exercise of digital rights but also presenting the public officials as persons beyond reproach and thus a law unto themselves. There were a number of government critics that were arrested in Tanzania (14). INTERNET SHUTDOWNS