MISA Zimbabwe Raises Concern on Zimbabwe Acquiring Surveillance Tools

Zimbabwe Signs for Facial Recognition Technology
Mutsvangwa (right) receives the facial recognition hardware from China

Media Institute of Southern Africa Zimbabwe (MISA Zimbabwe) has written a letter to the Parliament of Zimbabwe expressing concern over the acquisition, deployment and use of surveillance tools in the country, in the absence of adequate and clear data privacy legislation and mechanisms.

Chairperson of MISA Zimbabwe, Golden Maunganidze, in a letter addressed to the Speaker of the National Assembly Jacob Mudenda, says his organisation is concerned not only with the use of such tools in the absence of substantive cybersecurity and data protection legislation in Zimbabwe but also with the lack of transparency around the acquisition of this cybersecurity equipment and the conditions under which it is sold to Zimbabwe.

Maunganidze says, “MISA Zimbabwe raised such concerns earlier in 2018, following reports of undefined facial recognition equipment that was reportedly acquired from China, and the cybersecurity equipment that Japan had pledged to Zimbabwe.”

“More recently, two reports have emerged indicating that Zimbabwe is a customer of Circles, a surveillance firm that reportedly exploits weaknesses in the global mobile phone system to snoop on calls, texts, and the location of phones around the globe. Circles is also reported to be affiliated with NSO Group, which develops the often abused Pegasus spyware. Circles, whose products work without hacking the phone itself, says they sell only to nation-states.”

The organisation that has been fighting for the freedom of expression in Zimbabwe says lack of transparency and information around these deals is against the spirit of good governance and basic principles governing public administration as enshrined in Sections 9(1) and 194(1)(f) and (h) of the Constitution.

“MISA Zimbabwe notes the importance of promoting national security, and with the increase in the uptake of ICTs, the need to promote cybersecurity. However, such interventions should be informed by a human rights approach, respect of the Constitution and the declaration of rights, espoused therein, and as provided for in terms of Section 44 of the Constitution,” Maunganidze says.

“Section 57 of the Zimbabwean Constitution guarantees the right to privacy which right includes the privacy of communications. This right, therefore, also protects citizens from excessive and unjustified State surveillance.”

“Any limitation of this right should be guided by Section 86 of the Constitution. The section states that fundamental rights and freedoms may be limited in terms of a law of general application. This is to the extent that the limitation is fair, reasonable, necessary and justifiable in a democratic society based on openness, justice, human dignity, equality and freedom,” Maunganidze says.

MISA also raised concern about the continued operation of the Interception of Communications Act together with its provisions that infringe on the right to privacy.

Maunganidze, “MISA Zimbabwe thus urges Parliament to exercise its oversight function by examining how the acquisition and use of unspecified surveillance equipment will influence or curb the lawful enjoyment of the fundamental rights to privacy and free expression.”

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