Mugabe appoints Facebook, Whatsapp minister to punish cyber ‘rats’

Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe

Zimbabwean President, Robert Mugabe, has created a ministry to punish “rats” who make use of the cyberspace to attack his government.

Zimbabweans have joked about the development, claiming Chinamasa’s appointment makes him the “Minister of WhatsApp and Facebook”.

However, Chinamasa’s first job, it seems, is to get rid of, or regulate the use of Whatsapp and Facebook, raising serious concerns over freedom of expression, access to information and a clampdown on social media messaging.

Zimbabwe actually did, in fact, issue new rules on using WhatsApp, in the country. The rules order groups to be registered and for the administrator of the group to have government level clearance, Tribune Online reported.

It can be argued that Mugabe issued these new rules in order to tone down the rate of inflation in the country via rumours but one can’t but wonder if it isn’t to maintain Mugabe’s 37-year reign, so he could clinch another victory in 2018 presidential elections.