The government of Gabon shut down internet on Wednesday August, 31st following the announcement of President Ali Bongo being re-elected by a slim margin for a second seven-year term in office.[related-posts]
According to Doug Madory; the Director of internet analysis at DYN – Gabon Telecom, which routes over 91% of the country’s IP addresses, shut down the internet around 9 pm local time, he said.
Doug notes that Gabon Telecom, left only a few companies online that utilize alternate means of connectivity, such as satellite communications. The cutoff comes amidst reports of slow internet bandwidth and limited access during the weekend.
Near complete #Internet outage in #Gabon since last night. @Akamai traffic to country drops just before 9pm UTC. pic.twitter.com/Z4usoZchFx
— StateOfTheInternet (@akamai_soti) September 1, 2016
.@akamai_soti @JulieOwono Gabon Telecom went offline at around 18:00 UTC on 28-Aug for over an hour. pic.twitter.com/NGWKSIB8T9
— Dyn Research (@DynResearch) August 30, 2016
However, many people stood up to complain about it, including; Deji Bryce Olukotun; senior global advocacy manager at the digital rights advocacy group Access Now, who said that internet shutdowns serve as early warning mechanisms of human rights violations, and Gabon may prove no exception,” Quartz Africa reports.
Other sources have it that despite the internet shutdown, Ali Bongo and Jean Ping were both able to use social media platforms the following day to call for unity, upholding the rule of law, and to pray for those who were killed, injured or jailed during the clashes.
Nous devons tous y consacrer notre énergie, nous unir autour de sa recherche, c’est là le seul projet qui vaille #DirectABO
— Ali Bongo Ondimba (@PresidentABO) September 1, 2016
Mes pensées vont vers les anonymes qui ont été capturés, blessés ou tués durant les récents évènements. Dieu vous protège et bénisse #gabon
— Jean Ping (@pingjean) September 1, 2016
On the other hand, Gabon isn’t the only African country to shut down the internet as post-election tensions grow. Other countries, that do fall under this same category include; Uganda, Burundi, Ethiopia, Chad and Republic of Congo.
