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Social media is being misused in Kenya’s political arena

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2 years ago

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The information landscape in Africa – as elsewhere in the world – has expanded exponentially over the last decade. The proliferation of platform media, including Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, has been instrumental in this expansion. This has created important new debating spaces.

These platforms have now become essential for political campaigns across the continent. In Kenya, for example, social media has turned into a powerful new battleground in electoral

the world’s most rich and powerful”.

The papers revealed how powerful individuals, including the family of Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta, were using tax havens and secrecy jurisdictions to avoid public scrutiny of their assets. The authors of the Mozilla report uncovered a sophisticated strategy to counter the largely incriminating evidence against the president’s family. It involved astroturfing and the use of hashtags such as #phoneyleaks and #offshoreaccountsfacts.

Disinformation and misinformation practices, especially at election time in Kenya, aren’t new. But platform media provide easier and politics.

Traditionally, political debates have been shaped by mainstream media. However, over the years, public trust in these media has waned. The country’s mainstream media remains strongly wedded to factional ethnic and class interests. This has increasingly undermined its capacity to facilitate fair and open debate. This is particularly true during elections.

Social media platforms have exploited this trust deficit, acting as important alternative sites for political deliberation. However, they have also become powerful tools for disinformation and misinformation.

According to a recent report by the Mozilla Foundation, which campaigns for an open and accessible internet, there is now a relatively well-established disinformation industry in Kenya. It is largely driven by social media influencers.

Over the last 10 years, I have carried out research on the interface between digital technologies and politics in Kenya. The Mozilla report demonstrates what I’ve witnessed – the evolution of the political role of some of the country’s digital spaces.

There is no evidence that disinformation and misinformation practices can on their own influence the outcome of elections. Nevertheless, they pose a danger to democratic processes.

They also poison an important space in which deliberative politics should take place. In politically charged environments, such as Kenya’s, they have the capacity to exploit long-held divisions with the potential to trigger violence.

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Business

CONGS: 450 MEDICS GRADUATES AT ST FRANCIS SCHOOLS OF HEALTH SCIENCES

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3 months ago

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May 9, 2024

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St. Francis School of Health science Medics Urged to uphold Ethics and serve with Dedication
Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe, the Vice Chancellor Makerere University, through  Dr. Richard Muhindo delivered a powerful message at the ninth Graduation Ceremony of St. Francis schools of health science Namataba Mukono district.
Addressing 450 Graduates who were awarded nursing and midwifery certificates, Prof. Nawangwe emphasized the sacred nature of their profession and called on the graduates to shun extortion in healthcare services.
Furthermore, Nawangwe underscored the gravity of the responsibility entrusted to healthcare practitioners, urging them to approach patient care with unwavering vigilance. He urged them to exercise caution and precision in their interactions with patients.
Lugazi Diocese Bishop emeritus Rt. Rev. Dr. Mathias Ssekamanya, the guest of honour celebrant at the ceremony, lauded the graduates for their dedication to a path dedicated to preserving lives. He urged them to remain resolute in upholding the ethical standards of the medical profession.
Bishop Ssekamanya stressed that being a healthcare worker is not merely a job, but a divine calling from God to save lives. He urged practitioners to uphold the professional commitments they made, emphasizing the unethical practice of extracting money from the sick in exchange for their services.
Uganda Nurses and Midwives Examination Board – UNMEB executive secretary Birungi Nsamba Harriet, commended the founders of the institute and urged them to maintain the quality of the graduates, Ms Birungi urged the graduates to have discipline towards the patients they treat in hospitals.
Dr. Bossa Kiwanuka, the Principal of St. Francis  School of health science Nursing and Midwifery, commended the ministry of education’s guidance to the institute at every step they take.
Bossa applauded the parents for supporting the institute by sending their daughters and sons at st. Francis in big numbers

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MTN Uganda and Tooro Kingdom Join Forces for the 3rd Edition of the Tooro Kingdom MTN Amasaza Cup

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3 months ago

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April 25, 2024

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Fort Portal, Uganda. – MTN Uganda, in continued
partnership with Tooro Kingdom, proudly announces the launch of the highly anticipated
3rd edition of the Tooro Kingdom MTN Amasaza Cup. Building upon the success of
previous years, this tournament aims to promote healthy living, sports development, and
raise awareness about HIV/AIDS within the Tooro region.
The Masaza Football and Bicycle Racing Tournament, organized by Tooro Kingdom,
stands as a testament to the power of unity and community engagement. With MTN
Uganda's commitment to empowering communities and fostering positive change, this
collaboration reflects a shared vision of building a healthier and more vibrant society.
Rt. Hon. Prime Minister Steven Kiyingi, speaking on behalf of Tooro Kingdom,
expressed gratitude towards MTN Uganda for its unwavering support. "We extend our
heartfelt appreciation to MTN Uganda for their continued partnership in promoting
healthy living and sports development within our kingdom. This tournament serves as a
platform to mobilize subjects for HIV sensitization and testing and MTN's theme,

MTN Uganda | Media Release

'Together we are unstoppable,' perfectly encapsulates the spirit of unity and resilience
that defines our collaboration.
Aggrey Byaruhanga, MTN Uganda's Regional Marketing Coordinator, reiterated the
company's commitment to supporting cultural institutions like Tooro Kingdom. "At MTN
Uganda, we recognize the importance of cultural heritage and the pivotal role it plays in
shaping our society. Our partnership with Tooro Kingdom for the MTN Amasaza Cup
exemplifies our dedication to fostering meaningful connections and celebrating our
shared values. As we embark on this journey together, we reaffirm our commitment to
empowering cultural institutions and nurturing the rich tapestry of traditions that define
us."
The theme of this year's tournament, "Mobilising subjects to know their HIV status;
Living no one behind," underscores the urgent need to address public health challenges
and promote widespread awareness about HIV/AIDS. Through sports and community
engagement, the Tooro Kingdom MTN Amasaza Cup serves as a platform for
education, empowerment, and solidarity.
The official media launch of the 3rd edition of the Tooro Kingdom MTN Amasaza Cup is
scheduled for Tuesday, April 23rd, 2024, at 10:00 am. Hosted at the Tooro Kingdom
offices in the Mucwa complex, this event marks the beginning of an exciting journey
towards healthier communities and stronger partnerships.
MTN Uganda extends a warm invitation to all stakeholders, community leaders, and
sports enthusiasts to join us in celebrating the spirit of unity, resilience, and progress
embodied by the Tooro Kingdom MTN Amasaza Cup.
As excitement mounts for the tournament's kickoff, we invite you to witness the
electrifying first match between the defending champions, Mwenge South, and the
formidable contenders, Burahya. Don't miss this thrilling showdown, scheduled for
Sunday, May 26th, 2024, at 3:00 pm at the Katoosa Playground. Together, we are
unstoppable.

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Huawei Calls on Developers to Build Native Apps for HarmonyOS

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3 months ago

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April 22, 2024

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At the 21 st Huawei Analyst Summit, Huawei's rotating chairman, Eric Xu, urged developers to collaborate
on the development of native apps for the company's mobile operating system HarmonyOS. "We call on
all app developers and owners in China to join our HarmonyOS-native app ecosystem as soon as
possible, and work together to deliver a better experience to consumers," said Xu.
HarmonyOS is the company's next-generation operating system that can run on a wide range of smart
devices, e.g. smartphones, wearables, tablet computers and smart TVs. By the end of 2023, HarmonyOS
had been deployed on more than 800 million devices.
According to Counterpoint Research, Harmony OS reached 4% of the global market share and exceeded
16% market share in China in the fourth quarter of 2023.
Huawei has made substantial progress in developing the HarmonyOS ecosystem, with more than 4,000
of the targeted 5,000 apps already in the process of being ported to the new operating system. The
company aims to eventually have as many as a million apps configured for its ecosystem, Xu introduced.
Xu introduced that HarmonyOS has a novel architecture. From the start, this IoT-inspired OS was
designed to support all types of devices, from IoT devices and mobile devices to home devices, laptops,
and desktop computers. One system for all devices.
“In the past, our focus was mostly on adapting HarmonyOS for all sorts of devices. But for apps, they
were still working within the Android ecosystem,“ Xu explained. “In the China market, Huawei
smartphone users spend 99% of their time on about 5,000 apps. So we decided to spend 2024 porting
these apps over to HarmonyOS first in our drive to truly unify the OS and the app ecosystem,” said Xu.
“In 2024, one of our key objectives is to build up the HarmonyOS-native app ecosystem,” he
emphasized. “This is a massive undertaking, but we have broad support in the industry and from many
app developers. Once we have these first 5,000 Android apps – and thousands of other apps – up and
running on HarmonyOS, we will have a real HarmonyOS: a third mobile operating system for the world,
in addition to Apple iOS and Google Android.”
While Huawei's initial focus is on the Chinese market, Xu said that the company will gradually expand
HarmonyOS to other countries using a country-by-country approach.
Huawei has already invested heavily in cultivating talent for the HarmonyOS ecosystem. More than
380,000 developers have obtained HarmonyOS certification, and the number of industry-university
partnership programs on HarmonyOS exceeds 150. In 2023, more than 135 universities in China had
classes teaching HarmonyOS, says the company’s Annual Report of year 2023 made public end of
March.
In August 2023, Huawei's HongMeng (Harmony) Kernel was awarded the industry's first Evaluation
Assurance Level 6 Augmented (EAL6+) certificate as part of Common Criteria for Information Technology
Security Evaluation (CC), the highest security level available in the field of general-purpose operating

system (OS) kernels, being world's first smart device manufacturer to receive the certification in this
particular domain.
Xu admits that building out the HarmonyOS ecosystem is a very challenging task indeed. “As you may
know, developing HarmonyOS was not previously part of our strategy,” he said, “Regardless, now that
we have taken on this task, we will strive to do it well.”

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