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Kenya: Mombasa Leads Mobile Internet Speed in Kenya – Report

Mombasa is the place you will experience the fastest internet on your smartphone in Kenya, a survey by global network testing and data analytics firm Ookla through its Speedtest tool has revealed. The study, Kenya’s Mobile and Fixed Broadband Internet Speeds, was conducted in April, May and June and indicates that netizens in the coastal […]

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South Africa: Cyber Attacks Expose the Vulnerability of South Africa’s Ports

A joint effort is needed to prevent the unprecedented attack on Transnet’s port operating systems becoming the new normal. On 22 July, the first reports emerged that Transnet, a South African state-owned enterprise, was experiencing problems with its information technology (IT) networks. Transnet manages the nation’s rail, port and pipeline infrastructure. The disruption primarily affected […]

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Liberia: Publishers Seek Privacy for Personal Data

Newspapers and online publishers in Liberia are concerned about privacy for personal data of journalists and media institutions in the wake of global cyber attacks on personal information, targeting journalists, politicians, rights advocates, and lawyers, among others. They want legislation in the country to protect data of media institutions and their staff from outside intrusion […]

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Tanzania: 18, 000 SIM Cards Blocked in Tanzania

Dodoma — The government has blocked 18,622 subscriber identification module (SIM) phones that were found to have been involved in criminal incidents in the country. As the government has taken that move, at least over 10 million Tanzanians are reportedly yet to verify their SIM card lines. Communications and Information Technology minister Faustine Ndugulile issued […]

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Nigeria: Unique NIN Enrolments Hit 59.8 Million With Average of Three SIMs

The total number of unique National Identity Number (NIN) that has been verified across networks in Nigeria has reached 59.8 million as at July this year, according to recent statistics released jointly by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC). According to the statistics, a single subscriber with a single […]

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Uganda Steps Up Use of Clean Technology to Mitigate Climate Change

Kampala, Uganda — When it comes to climate change, Uganda has been doing one thing right, and that is maintaining a small carbon footprint. According to the information from Our World in Data, 2017 statistics stood at 0.12 tonnes per capita. To maintain this status, at the United Nations climate conference of 2015, Uganda pledged […]

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Tanzania: Govt Pledges Review of Mobile Money Levy

PRESIDENT Samia Suluhu Hassan yesterday pledged a review of mobile money transaction charges but insisted that the newly-introduced levy is crucial in generating revenue for rural Also, the amendments have imposed a levy of between 10/- to 200/- per day per SIM card depending on the ability of the user to recharge the balance whereby […]

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Nigeria: NBA Sues Buhari, NCC, Others Over #TwitterBan

The NBA urges the court to set aside the Nigerian government’s ban on the use of Twitter. The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has sued President Muhammadu Buhari and the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) over the suspension of Twitter in Nigeria. “The actions and directives of the respondents gravely infringed the fundamental rights of the applicant […]

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Kenya: Entrepreneur Specialising in Kanzus Capitalises on Social Media to Push Sales

As technology advances, so have modes of marketing products. Each time 32-year old Salim Abdalla uploads a short video on TikTok marketing his products, he gets hundreds of views, and from that, makes a sale or two. Mr Abdalla, who specialises in menswear, specifically thobes, popularly known as ‘kanzu’ in Swahili, has joined a new […]

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Uganda: City Robberies Expose Flaws in CCTV Project

On Independence Day in 2018, President Museveni listened attentively as former police acting director for ICT Felix Baryamwisaki demonstrated how CCTV cameras detect unusual building up of a crowd and set off an alarm in the control room. Watching on a screen miles away from the scene, the President saw a handful of young men […]

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East Africa: How Rwanda Stopped Kenyan Cybergang

When the dreaded Forkbombo cybergang relocated to Rwanda, their modus operandi was already known by security authorities, and they lay in wait and eventually arrested 12 individuals. Cybersecurity firm OnNet Africa also had a hand in ending Forkbombo’s reign of terror, as it shared crucial information on the hackers with relevant authorities over the years, […]

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Western Sahara: Sahrawi Government Condemns Involvement of Morocco in Pegasus Espionage

Bir Lahlou — The Sahrawi Government on Friday condemned the involvement of Morocco in the Pegasus espionage case, saying that this is a “criminal act” contrary to all charters and treaties governing international relations, reports the Sahrawi press agency (SPS). “The Sahrawi government has learnt of the involvement of the Kingdom of Morocco in the […]

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Zimbabwe: Unvaccinated TelOne Workers On Forced Leave, Covid-19 Allowances Scrapped

STATE-OWNED telecommunications operator, TelOne, has advised all employees not vaccinated against Covid-19 to take leave to reduce their exposing other workers to the global pandemic. The company said 60% of staff had been vaccinated, but acknowledged the risk of those not inoculated. “TelOne acknowledges the seriousness of the Covid-19 situation in the country at the […]

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Zimbabwe: Unvaccinated Telone Staff Sent On Leave, Physical Meetings Suspended

LANDLINE phone and data service operator, TelOne, has directed its unvaccinated staff to go on leave with immediate and withdrew the Covid-19 allowance for all those the same category, as part mitigation measures against the spread of the deadly pandemic. Following the Government’s guidance to decongest public office space to at least 25 percent of […]

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Africa: We Created a Tool to Help Predict Covid-19 Increases in African Countries

One of the obstacles if you are trying to guide policy and protect people from COVID-19 is the bewildering amount of data available every day. We are awash in information, but everyone wants to distil insight that makes sense from this. Policymakers need to make sense of the data so as to predict and manage […]

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Africa: Chinese Tech, Ignored By the West, Is Taking Over Africa’s Cyberspace

While China’s telecom giant Huawei has come under increasing attack in the US and the European Union, it is thriving in Africa. Its most recent addition is a contract to establish a datacenter for the government in Senegal. Its strategy in Africa was summed up during a question-and-answer session with the company’s personnel at the […]

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South Africa: Pegasus Project – Macron Among World Leaders Selected As Potential Targets of NSO Spyware

South African’s Cryil Ramaphosa and Pakistan’s Imran Khan also among 14 world leaders identified as potential targets The list contained phone numbers for more than 600 government officials and politicians from 34 countries ‘It’s clear that even those at the highest levels of power cannot escape the sinister spread of NSO’s spyware’ – Agnes Callamard […]

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South Africa: Making Sense of the Violence – SA Social Media and the Poor ‘Weaponised By the Leaders of Chaos’

‘We need a radical ethical transformation,’ said economist Iraj Abedian during a Daily Maverick webinar discussion on the recent violence and unrest that has rocked the country. Economist Iraj Abedian convened with Daily Maverick journalist Desiree Erasmus and host Marianne Thamm at a Daily Maverick webinar event on Sunday evening to unpack the violence which […]