Online Reporter
Thupeyo Muleya
Beitbridge Bureau
PAN-AFRICAN Parliament president Chief Fortune Charumbira has issued a clarion call for Africa to assert sovereignty over its digital data, warning that failure to do so risks ushering in a new age of exploitation through “data colonialism.”
Speaking at the opening of the Sensitive Data Sovereignty Conference yesterday in Nairobi, Kenya, organised by Tangaza University, the University of Nairobi, and the Africa University Network on FAIR Open Science (AUN-FOS), Chief Charumbira described data control as a matter of dignity, security and economic survival.
He said Africa’s vast and growing data resources—drawn from its large population, cultural diversity and digital markets— were increasingly stored, processed, and monetised outside the continent.
This external control, he said, left Africa vulnerable to privacy violations, economic exploitation and political manipulation by foreign powers and multinational corporations.
“In this digital revolution, technology and information have become both powerful assets and critical centres of socio-economic and political vulnerability if they are not properly managed,” Chief Charumbira said.
“It is urgent and imperative, therefore, for Africa to ensure that the digital transformation that is sweeping across the globe does not come at the expense of our nations’ sovereignty and the fundamental rights of our people.”
The PAP president positioned Africa at a critical juncture, facing both immense opportunity and unprecedented challenge. He called for the continent to leapfrog traditional development paths by embracing digital technologies to accelerate growth, improve governance and enhance livelihoods—but on its own terms.
Central to his vision is the creation of an African Data Space, including a secure African Health Data Space, where data can be generated, shared and monetised without surrendering ownership or control.
Chief Charumbira advocated for a unified, continent-wide approach, involving Governments, the private sector, civil society and academia, to establish robust data governance frameworks.
He highlighted the African Union’s Malabo Convention on Cybersecurity and Personal Data Protection (2014) as a crucial foundational document for developing African standards.
The conference comes amid a rapidly evolving global technological landscape, where artificial intelligence and data-driven economies are reshaping power dynamics.
