FOREWORD
IN DEFENCE OF DIGITAL SPACE IN SOUTHERN AFRICA IN THE AGE OF SURVEILLANCE
Online technologies have enabled the exercise of freedom of expression and access to information in a way
never imagined before. People are freer to express themselves while access to information is literally at their
fingertips. The truth of this proposition is self-evident. However, while these technologies have been a facilitator
for freedom of expression, they also allow for digital surveillance of citizens and more particularly journalists
and activists globally and continentally in general and in Southern Africa region specifically.
The irony is that online and digital technologies are enabling tools for freedom of expression, but they are also
the biggest threat to that very same right. Such complex contradictions constitute a colossal challenge, that
urgently requires a competitive response aimed at safeguarding the former against the latter. We are convinced
that the defence of expression online in the face of surveillance, constitutes an engine upon which the right
to express and citizens make informed decision making towards our collective good as a people of Southern
Africa. Such a defence shield cannot be built through a fragmented approach, but rather through regional,
continental, and global collaborative efforts. This is mainly because governments are increasingly acquiring
new tools that help them surveil citizens, infringing on the right to privacy through collaborative efforts with other
states.
The right to privacy is a prerequisite for journalists to do their work and ensure access to fact-based and reliable
information. Privacy is a necessity if journalists are to communicate freely with sources, receive confidential
information, investigate corruption, and guarantee their safety and that of their sources. For this reason, there
is a need to ensure that the right to privacy is protected because without it we risk having societies that
are characterised by self-censorship, thereby translating to decreased access to information and ultimately
undermining democracy.
Anecdotal evidence in Southern Africa shows that governments in the region are increasingly resorting to digital
tools for surveillance and this is a serious cause for concern. Freedom of expression and of the media are quite
fragile in the region and the acquisition of such tools could be the death knell of these rights in the region. At
least three Southern African countries; Botswana, Zambia, and Zimbabwe – have acquired sophisticated tools
developed by an Israeli company, Circles, which they use to monitor the behaviour of their citizens online.
Furthermore, what is worrying is that most countries in Southern Africa are coming up with cyber security laws,
which in principle are needed, but these are used as a guise for surveillance.
Just recently, Zambia fast tracked a cyber security law, Zimbabwe enacted one and other countries such
as Botswana, Namibia, Lesotho, and Mauritius are in the process of developing theirs. In 2021, the South
African Constitutional Court ruled that the Regulation of Interception of Communications and Provision of
Communication-Related Information Act (RICA) was unconstitutional. The ruling came after a journalist, Sam
Sole, who had been the subject of state surveillance, and the Amabhungane Centre for Investigative Journalism
applied to challenge the Act’s constitutionality. This, therefore, shows that state surveillance of journalists and
activists is quite widespread and, as alluded before, this could pose one of the biggest threats to journalism
and freedom of expression in a region where democracy is quite nascent.
In such circumstances, the need for upskilling digital security for journalists cannot be overemphasised.
Therefore, the development of this toolkit is quite timely, as it provides best practices on digital security and
digital hygiene for media houses and journalists. It includes operational security, developing a digital security
policy, and the use of virtual private networks (VPNs). The toolkit also provides explainers of key surveillance
software and terminologies. Quite importantly, it also provides resource links to open-source software and
digital security software, which journalists can explore and use to protect their privacy online.

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A SURVIVAL
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TOOLKIT FOR JOURNALISTS

A SURVIVAL TOOLKIT FOR JOURNALISTS
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