The Arab Spring began in December 2010, when Mohamed Bouazizi, a Tunisian street vendor, set himself on fire to protest police corruption and humiliation. His act of defiance sparked a wave of uprisings that swept through Egypt, Libya, Syria, and Yemen. It was the first time Africa witnessed large-scale internet-driven activism — a revolution powered by social media platforms, especially Facebook. These movements toppled regimes and expanded democratic participation in nations long associated with autocratic rule.
Today, the winds of this digital revolution are blowing eastward, reaching countries like Kenya and Tanzania. In June 2024, Kenya experienced its own “digital uprising” during protests against the controversial Finance Bill. The government was accused of colluding with the country’s largest telecom provider, Safaricom, to briefly shut down internet access at the height of the demonstrations. Though both parties denied the allegations, no official explanation was ever offered for the blackout. Independent providers like Starlink — owned by Elon Musk — who reportedly refused to comply with the shutdown order, later faced government harassment disguised as regulatory enforcement.
A similar scenario unfolded in Tanzania following the arrests of prominent activists Boniface Mwangi and Agather Atuhaire. The ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) government reacted by blocking access to X (formerly Twitter), a platform that had become the main rallying point for digital protest across East Africa. Kenyan bloggers were accused of hacking into the Tanzanian police’s X account to voice their anger over the arrests — a move that highlighted the increasingly borderless nature of online activism.
In Kenya, the recent suspected killing of blogger and high school teacher Albert Ojwang by members of the police service has further inflamed public outrage. Ojwang, through his social media platforms, had exposed alleged corruption among high-ranking officers, including the laundering of illicit funds through real estate investments in the Far East. His death sparked fresh riots in Nairobi and intensified calls for justice and transparency within law enforcement.
Across the continent, digital activism is emerging as the new opposition — a decentralized, people-driven movement holding governments accountable in ways traditional political parties and legacy media often fail to. Many African political systems lack effective mechanisms for dissent, while sections of the mainstream media remain aligned with ruling regimes. This was evident when former Kenyan Majority Leader Kimani Ichung’wah faced tough questioning by Al Jazeera’s Mehdi Hasan, exposing the widening gap between official narratives and public sentiment.
What many African leaders fail to grasp is that the political ecosystem has shifted irreversibly since the Arab Spring — a change accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, which expanded digital connectivity and social media engagement. Globalization has further amplified the impact of this transformation. Platforms like X, TikTok, and YouTube have turned leaders such as Burkina Faso’s Ibrahim Traoré into continental icons, admired for their bold, reformist leadership. Through social media, citizens across Africa can now draw direct comparisons between governments, leaders, and policies — reshaping expectations and standards of governance.
Attempts to suppress online dissent through internet shutdowns during elections or civil unrest are proving futile. Unlike the past — when intimidation, detention without trial, assassinations, and forced exiles silenced critics — today’s resistance is digital, decentralized, and resilient.
African governments must accept that this is a new season of political consciousness. No army, intelligence service, or foreign ally can insulate leaders from accountability in the digital age. The revolution will not be televised — it will be livestreamed.
John Maina Githinji is a Socio-Economic and Political Analyst
