The COVID-19 pandemic has not just affected the health and economies of countries - it has proven to be a significant threat to civil liberties and democracy as a whole. Particularly in Africa, the crisis has presented an opportunity for authoritarians to strengthen their grip on power and further erode core civil freedoms. This has been especially acute in East Africa where recent general elections in Tanzania and Uganda have seen an intensification of power abuse and restrictions on freedom of assembly, speech and media.
Accordingly, the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom (FNF) has sought to get to the forefront of protecting and promoting civil liberties in East Africa.
We recently commissioned in-depth interviews (IDIs) and a quantitative survey to inform a strategic playbook to assist us and together with our partners to drive a liberal restart in 2021.
On 1 March 2021 at 6pm (East African Time), we will be broadcasting the launch of the strategic playbook based on an event that we hosted in Nairobi on 25 February. This was to report on the findings of this one-of-a-kind survey.
The event was attended by a number of key individuals from the political, government, diplomatic, media and NGO sectors.