Government blocks SMS messages in the Congo

Once again we've seen a government supressing mobile phone services in a bid to control civil unrest.  This time it was the turn of the Democratic Republic of Congo, which forced network operators to suspended text messaging on their networks following the recent election in this country.

As you may expect in a country that has had a recent and very violent civil war, moving towards a democracy has been a bumpy road, with these elections being only the second time the Congolese have taken to the polling booths since the end of the civil war. The official results of the election claim that the serving president --Joseph Kabila – won the election with 49% of the vote.  However the opposition --Etienne Tshisekedi—refutes these results saying that the election was "rigged" and has taken to the streets in protest.  To help maintain order, the authorities have instructed Congo's network operators to suspend SMS services to prevent political disturbances by the opposition.

Now, what is interesting about the DR Congo’s suppression of technologies is that it has centred in on the suspension of SMS messaging services, unlike parts of the Middle East which tried in vain to control internet services and access to the social networks.  However, internet and telecommunication service in Africa can be dodgy, which is why many Africans rely heavily on their mobile phone (and text messaging in particular) for information.  As it is the main mass communication tool it’s not that surprising that the authorities decided to stop all SMS communication.

While the general Congolese public may have been angered and annoyed by the suspension of text messaging and voice call with their mobile it was the nation’s 1.4 million deaf people that were the hardest hit by the suspension of SMS services.  The ban had severely limited their ability to communicate with others, and more importantly they no longer received warnings about the violence.  As they didn’t know whether it was safe to go out, many were stuck indoors, while those that did venture out may have mistakenly become caught up in the violence.  At least now the ban has been lifted, but I can’t help wondering just how many other places will resort to similar tactics to help prevent civil unrest.