FISHO MWALE writes:
The announcement by the President regarding the installation of CCTVs at universities should be met with trepidation. The immediate concern, as a former UNZA student,is the threat posed by a surveillance system linked to the National Intelligence System, which threatens not only individual student liberties but also the university community as a whole.
A university is an environment that thrives on the unfettered exchange of ideas, creative thought, robust discourse, and the freedom to question politics and society, all without the watchful eye of a “Big Brother.”
I believe we already have the $200m Safe City Project with Command centre and over 200 cameras on major roads, including at the entrance of Unza providing surveillance.
Traditionally, most universities provide their own on-campus security services. The involvement of a state security apparatus on a university campus during peacetime raises significant questions about the state’s motives.
Is crime or unresolved murders prevalent on these campuses? Are we to assume that social crimes, such as those committed by so-called “Sugar Daddies,” are so endemic that they warrant such a substantial investment in CCTV systems—especially when we may not have the resources to maintain them, leading to their eventual redundancy? What about the freedom of association and interpersonal relationships among consenting adults on campus? Should these be subjected to surveillance? Given the prevalence of social media, these connections (with SDs)are essentially unmanageable by CCTV systems.
Moreover, modern drone technology is so advanced that traditional CCTV is becoming obsolete. Alternatively a cheaper but efficient system is biometric gate passes which authorises residents only.
Manje ma cameras muzaona maloza yapa break time.
My concern is that CCTV aimed at monitoring students is intrusive to the healthy intellectual environment that a university community fosters. The President’s announcement raises further concerns about deeper issues that we may not yet understand.
Maybe “ hot politics on campus ?”