Unwanted Witness Launches Groundbreaking Report on Surveillance Threats to Civil Society in East & Southern Africa
Harare, Zimbabwe – 10 June 2025 — Today, at the Holiday Inn Hotel in Harare, Zimbabwe, Unwanted Witness, in partnership with MISA Zimbabwe, the Open Society Foundations, and the Ford Foundation, launched a powerful new report titled: “Surveillance/Spyware: An Impediment to Civil Society, HRDs & Journalists in East & Southern Africa.”
The report reveals how unchecked government surveillance and the growing use of spyware are stifling free expression, intimidating dissenting voices, and threatening democracy across East and Southern Africa. It documents how digital surveillance practices, often deployed without legal oversight or accountability, are used to target human rights defenders (HRDs), journalists, activists, and other civil society actors.
“The right to communicate freely and privately is fundamental to democracy and protected under international law,” Dorothy Mukasa, Executive Director-Unwanted Witness. “Yet this right is under siege as states and non-state actors deploy increasingly sophisticated tools to monitor, intimidate, and silence dissent.”
Drawing from in-depth case studies in Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, Ethiopia, Zimbabwe, South Africa, and Malawi, the report uncovers the widespread use of technologies such as Pegasus, FinFisher, IMSI catchers, biometric systems, and real-time communication intercepts to surveil and suppress critical voices. It explores how these tools are deployed in both passive and targeted forms, raising urgent legal and ethical concerns around privacy, data misuse, and authoritarian control.
The report further outlines the chilling impact of surveillance on civil society, highlighting how intrusive practices are eroding public trust, encouraging self-censorship, and narrowing democratic space.
Key issues covered include:
- The role of surveillance in shrinking civic space and stifling democratic engagement
- The misuse of cybersecurity and anti-terrorism laws to justify surveillance
- Violations of data protection laws, due process, and fundamental freedoms
- Disproportionate targeting of HRDs, journalists, political dissidents, and marginalized groups
- The urgent need for rights-based digital governance and ethical deployment of technology
“This report is a call to action,” said Dorothy Mukasa the Executive Director of Unwanted Witness. “We need collective pushback to counter the weaponization of digital technologies. Surveillance must never be used to silence civic actors, it must be subjected to strict legal oversight and accountability.”
Recommendations in the report emphasize the importance of legal reform, digital security training, institutional accountability, and multi-stakeholder action to protect civic space and democratic values. It calls for the international community, civil society, tech companies, and governments to uphold human rights standards in digital environments.
As the digital surveillance landscape continues to evolve, the report underscores the inseparability of the fight against unlawful surveillance from the broader struggle for freedom, dignity, and justice in the digital age.
About Unwanted Witness:
Unwanted Witness is a civil society organization based in Uganda that works to promote and protect digital rights, privacy, and freedom of expression through research, advocacy, and strategic litigation across Africa.
For further information, please contact:
THE UNWANTED WITNESS – Uganda
P. O. Box 71314 Clock Tower K’la Uganda | Plot 26, Ssentema Road |
Website: www.unwantedwitness.org
Email: info@unwantedwitness.org | Twitter: @unwantedwitness |
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