Gabonese Government Tightens Internet Controls to Squelch Dissent

Gabonese authorities have implemented a series of restrictive digital laws and social media suspensions following anti-government protests, sparking widespread concerns among human rights activists regarding the suppression of dissent. As reported by The Guardian, the government indefinitely halted access to major social media platforms in February citing security risks.

The crackdown escalated in urban centers like Libreville, where gendarmerie reportedly began stop-and-search operations to confiscate mobile phones containing Virtual Private Networks (VPNs). These restrictions coincide with the passage of a new February regulation requiring social media users to provide verified names and identification to the state.

“This sustained intentional interference with access to essential digital communication platforms in Gabon is a blatant disregard for people’s fundamental rights, specifically the freedom of expression and the right to access information,” said Felicia Anthonio, campaign manager at the #KeepItOn coalition.

Rights groups have condemned the measures as collective punishment. They argue that the government is bypassing constitutional due process by imposing unconstitutional restrictions on freedom of expression rather than prosecuting specific offenders through the legal system.

“They create fake accounts and they put our identities on those accounts, then they report us for identity theft,” said Nelly Ngabima, a controversial activist also known as Princesse de Souba.

Ngabima, a former intelligence operative, claimed her social media accounts with 300,000 followers were suspended after she received threats from officials. She noted that citizens now fear using communication apps like WhatsApp due to potential state monitoring.

“Today, Gabonese people even struggle to send a WhatsApp message because they are afraid. They do not even go out with their phones,” she said.

The activist highlighted that despite the change in leadership from Ali Bongo to General Brice Oligui Nguema, the economic and political struggles of the population remain largely unchanged under the new military-led administration.

“Today Gabonese people still die of hunger, have no jobs and struggle to get medical treatment … all that already existed during Ali Bongo’s time,” said Ngabima.

She criticized the current regime for maintaining the same tactics as the previous government despite having condemned those very behaviors before seizing power in August 2023.

“In reality, strictly speaking, nothing has changed. You cannot remove Mr Ali Bongo because you condemned certain behaviours and then arrive and reproduce the same. That is not possible,” she said.

Defending the government’s legislative actions, spokesperson Charles Edgard Mombo suggested that opposition to the new codes was focused more on procedural timing than the actual content of the laws.

“What is being said here and there, in my view and humble opinion, concerns not so much the substance of the debate as its form,” said government spokesperson Charles Edgard Mombo.

Mombo cited article 99 of the Gabonese constitution to justify the implementation of ordinances during times of urgency. Meanwhile, social networks failing to comply with the new identification mandates face fines of 50 million central African CFA francs and potential prison terms for their representatives.