Ruled with an iron fist by the president Yoweri Kaguta Museveni for thirty-six years, Uganda, a small country in Central Africa, has never been very democratic: the regime is regularly accused of ballot stuffing, corruption and the kidnapping of its political opponents. In 2014, the President received a new tool to strengthen its repressive apparatus: 20 surveillance cameras equipped with facial recognition technologies worth 750,000 dollars (702,000 euros), all offered by the Chinese company Huawei, world leader in telecommunications equipment and manufacturer of surveillance tools.
The president organized a ceremony to thank the company, in the presence of Chinese officials. The gift was a commercial sample: Convinced, the Ugandan authorities quickly ordered more cameras from Huawei, which was already supplying the country with its telecommunications network.
Today, Huawei cameras are present in all the cities of the country, and in all the streets of the capital, Kampala. “The police installed cameras in front of the houses of all opposition politicians and all associations. There’s one in front of our office, testifies Allan Sempala Kigozi, lawyer and head of programs at Unwanted Witness, a Ugandan association which defends the right to privacy and campaigns against Internet censorship. They know when you leave your house, when you return. It’s hard to mobilize in these conditions. »
According to an investigation of wall street journal, Huawei engineers even helped Ugandan security services break into a group on the WhatsApp messenger used by Bobi Wine, singer and main political opponent of the president. Thanks to this surveillance device, the Ugandan police have become more effective in preventing rallies and arresting the artist’s supporters. “Ugandans don’t feel safer. It is even the opposite. They are more afraid than before”continues Mr. Kigozi.
Ethnic recognition
Huawei is just one of many Chinese players in the video surveillance industry. For fifteen years, Chinese companies have dominated this market: Hikvision, the world leader, is a subsidiary of the state-owned company CETC, based in Hangzhou, a metropolis west of Shanghai where the giant is also headquartered. from Alibaba Tech. With a turnover that exceeds 10 billion dollars in 2021, the company largely dominates the market.
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