The Battle Over Technology in Togo
Since the protests begin in Togo in 2017, the government of Togo has used the internet as a weapon against the protesters. This process began in 2017 when the Togolese government shut down the internet in the country in response to the protests. It was later ruled that this action on the part of the Togolese government was a violation of the rights of the citizens of Togo.
The decision to shut down the internet demonstrated that the dictatorship in Togo recognized the power that the internet. In a nation where the military dictatorship has sustained itself in power through violence and intimidation, the internet was one area where the people of Togo were able to exercise a degree of freedom. Farida Nabourema, who is a Togolese activist who has been fighting the regime in power for several years, stated:
I was one of those activists, and like many of my fellow dissidents I have felt empowered in the years since Mr. Gnassingbé’s rise by the ability to denounce the government — its corruption and gangsterism — on social media. “You may rule over Togo with no accountability,” I wrote in a 2014 Facebook post, addressing the administration, “but we citizens rule over the internet, and we will hold you accountable.”
The Togolese government agreed and it has since done whatever it could to take control over the internet. The shut down was the first move in that direction, but shutting down the internet in Togo worked in the favor of those who were protesting against the regime.
In order to suppress the protests, the dictatorship resorted to utilizing spyware to target activists, journalists, and opposition leaders. This has effectively destroyed whatever anonymity the internet has provided for critics of the regime.
The struggle against dictatorship in Togo demonstrates the power of technology in the world that we live in today. For the oppressed, technology offers a tool of resistance which can be used to spread information and organize resistance. For the dictatorship, technology is yet another tool which can be used as a weapon against the masses.
—
Dwayne is the author of Hackers, Politicians, and Monarchs and several other books on African and African Diaspora history.
