Thus, the January 2019 Internet shutdown had an impact on citizens’ right to access, receive and exchange views not just on the unfolding events, but on their everyday communication thus impacting negatively on the right to free expression. United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Rights to Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and of Association, Clement Nyaletsossi, in his preliminary report aptly summed up the impact of internet shutdowns when he said: “I was also informed of cases of internet shutdown that took place during the crackdown of protests further limiting the right to peacefully assembly. I strongly believe that network disruptions are in clear violation of international law and cannot be justified under any circumstances. “Network shutdown orders often lack a legal basis and these events in Zimbabwe were no exception. In this sense, I applaud the High Court’s decision ruling that the Minister of State responsible for national security in the President’s Office did not have the authority to issue any directives in terms of the Interception of Communications Act.” The ruling followed a court challenge mounted by MISA Zimbabwe. Internet governance It is against these developments that MISA Zimbabwe convened the 2019 Multi-stakeholder Internet Governance Conference to raise awareness about the African Declaration on Internet Rights and Freedoms (AfDec). AfDec sets the principles which are necessary to uphold human and people’s rights on the Internet, and to cultivate an Internet environment that can best meet Africa’s social and economic development needs and goals. Furthermore, the AfDec initiative seeks to build on seminal African human rights instruments such as the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR), the Windhoek Declaration on Promoting an Independent and Pluralistic African Press, the African Charter on Broadcasting, the Declaration of Principles on Freedom of Expression in Africa, and the African Platform on Access to Information Declaration. 17