Countries in the region, especially Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Rwanda, have in the past few weeks been grappling with how to tackle the internet that has been seemingly getting out of control. The measures and motives by individual countries vary, but the bottom line is that the cyber community has to be under constant scrutiny. Some cybercrime laws, such as in Kenya, have been challenged in court and are still hanging. The most controversial article is that posting videos on YouTube is akin to shooting films which requires a license for the Film Censor Board. Other countries want to put a levy on the use of popular social media, a move that could prove to be a goldmine. But the way the cybercrime laws and the underlying motives are explained is attracting criticism, especially in Western counties such as the United States where free speech, however damaging, is part of the Bill of Rights. Rwanda has not been left out in the debate of how to tame the new Wild West of cyber territory. A law has just been passed in parliament that its drafters seemed more preoccupied with preserving morals and fighting the spread of fake news, defamation and trolls. All these laws could be well-intentioned but they have to be specific and should not be seen to be a hindrance to access of information, especially for the media. If some malicious website in Europe publishes what could be fake news and a journalist in Kigali shares it with colleagues, either to seek its authenticity and veracity, it should not be considered a crime. The media thrives on sharing news, whether true or false, and then it goes to the bottom, digs and confirms or dismisses it for the sake of its audience. That sharing of information should not be considered a crime. It is the motive behind that matter.
