• Friday, March 29, 2024
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Technology, Uganda’s tool to fight crime

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The Nigeria Police may learn one or two things from Ugandan where Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei’s technology is rolling out a massive surveillance system that uses facial recognition and other artificial intelligence software to fight crime in the central African country.

The police force made the statement on Tuesday in response to a report by the Wall Street Journal that Huawei technicians had helped intelligence officials in Uganda to spy on their political opponents.

Spokesperson Fred Enanga denied that the police force was using Huawei’s technology to monitor opposition figures but confirmed that a new surveillance system was in use.

The project, which includes the nationwide installation of Huawei closed-circuit television cameras, is part of the Chinese firm’s Safe City initiative, which has been rolled out in more than 200 cities around the world. I

In Nairobi, the capital of neighbouring Kenya, Huawei’s small spherical cameras are ubiquitous in the city centre, perched on slender lampposts at most intersections.

The Ugandan police force said the system had boosted security in the capital Kampala, where its installation is about 85 per cent complete, but the admission that the cameras’ facial recognition software is already in use is likely to increase concerns among opposition politicians and rights activists, who fear that such technology could be misused.

“We would like the public to know that the [Ugandan Police Force] has an existing contract with Huawei to install CCTV cameras country wide as a measure to strengthen law and order,” Mr Enanga said in a statement.

“The cameras are already transforming modern day policing in Uganda, with facial recognition and artificial intelligence as part of policing and security.”

The rollout of Huawei’s smart CCTV technology into Uganda and Kenya is the latest example of China exporting its artificial intelligence to developing countries, particularly in Africa. Last April, Chinese AI firm CloudWalk signed a dealwith the government of Zimbabwe to help build a mass facial recognition system.

Biometric data from Zimbabwean citizens will help CloudWalk build a more racially diverse and accurate facial recognition system, and thus improve the surveillance technologies that it also provides Chinese police, among others.

“Given the history of Chinese surveillance, this should be concerning to every Ugandan. This is part of a wider surveillance in public spaces,” said Dorothy Mukasa, executive director of Unwanted Witness, a non-profit body that advocates for uncensored online platforms in Uganda.

“The key concern is we have no safeguards here. This is unregulated and there is a lack of accountability and transparency when it comes to collection of personal data.”

The Ugandan police said the Wall Street Journal’s allegations were part of a campaign to smear Huawei as part of America’s trade war with China. “We will continue to observe our Memorandum of Understanding with Huawei and not help promote propaganda wars,” Mr Enanga said.