In response to reports that the authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo have ordered internet firms to block access to social media sites on 18 December, Sarah Jackson, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for East Africa, the Horn and the Great Lakes, said:
“The social media shutdown on the eve of the end of President Kabila’s mandate is a blatant attempt to keep the Congolese people in the dark at a critical time, and must be rescinded immediately.
“Instead of emulating the repressive tactics of other governments in the region that have shut down social media at critical junctures during political contests, the DRC government should be upholding the right of the Congolese people to share information.”
President Joseph Kabila’s constitutionally-mandated second term comes to an end on 19 December.