Constitutionalism and the internet in Africa: Progress, challenges and prospects

There is no doubt that significant inroads are made in of information technology in Africa. The situation, though usually underestimated, is not as it used to be years ago where the level of internet penetration is very low. Today, what is obtainable in Africa is an average internet penetration rate of around 40 percent. This is quite significant considering how important the internet is for constitutionalism and human rights. Indeed, numerous literature have alluded to how the internet is an enabler of human rights. Regardless of this, the internet has now become means to violate human rights and this is more so in Africa where the government and private entities have either collected individuals’ personal information arbitrarily or restricted the people’s right to express themselves freely online. This phenomenon is on the increase in even the widely acclaimed sound democracies in Africa. The situation therefore raises the question regarding how best to protect rights in the digital age and to ensure that the internet is not used in an arbitrary manner to the detriment of the people. Quite a number of solutions have been proffered however, one aspect which is silent in the literature is the extent to which constitutions can be used as an instrument to protect rights on the internet and promote constitutionalism. This is an aspect which this research project intends to explore deeper.