{
  "title": "Search: shutdowns and blocking in Africa, from 2020",
  "canonical_url": "https://thewaronnews.com/search?continent=africa&tactic=shutdowns_and_blocking&from=2020",
  "filters": {
    "continent": "africa",
    "tactic": "shutdowns_and_blocking",
    "from": "2020"
  },
  "sort": "date",
  "count": 2,
  "page": 1,
  "pages": 1,
  "per_page": 50,
  "counts_caveat": "The number of entries reflects the depth of this record, not the severity of a country's conduct.",
  "facets": {
    "country": [
      {
        "value": "ET",
        "label": "Ethiopia",
        "rsf": {
          "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index",
          "year": 2026,
          "rank": 148,
          "of": 180,
          "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 148th of 180",
          "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index"
        }
      },
      {
        "value": "TZ",
        "label": "Tanzania",
        "rsf": {
          "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index",
          "year": 2026,
          "rank": 117,
          "of": 180,
          "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 117th of 180",
          "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index"
        }
      }
    ],
    "continent": [
      {
        "value": "africa",
        "label": "Africa"
      }
    ],
    "tactic": [
      {
        "value": "shutdowns_and_blocking",
        "label": "Shutdowns and blocking",
        "count": 2
      },
      {
        "value": "access_ban",
        "label": "Access bans",
        "count": 1
      }
    ],
    "stage": [
      {
        "value": "silence",
        "label": "Silence",
        "count": 2
      }
    ],
    "level": [
      {
        "value": "national",
        "label": "National",
        "count": 1
      },
      {
        "value": "state_or_province",
        "label": "State or province",
        "count": 1
      }
    ],
    "outcome": [
      {
        "value": "unknown",
        "label": "Unknown",
        "count": 1
      },
      {
        "value": "ongoing",
        "label": "Ongoing",
        "count": 1
      }
    ],
    "leader": [
      {
        "value": "abiy-ahmed",
        "label": "Abiy Ahmed"
      },
      {
        "value": "samia-suluhu-hassan",
        "label": "Samia Suluhu Hassan"
      }
    ],
    "era": [
      {
        "value": "2020s",
        "label": "2020s",
        "count": 2
      }
    ],
    "year": [
      {
        "value": "2020",
        "label": "2020",
        "count": 1
      },
      {
        "value": "2025",
        "label": "2025",
        "count": 1
      }
    ],
    "has_case": [
      {
        "value": "0",
        "label": "without a court case",
        "count": 2
      }
    ]
  },
  "results": [
    {
      "slug": "2025-tanzania-internet-shutdown-election-day",
      "title": "Tanzania shuts down internet access on election day amid unrest",
      "occurred_on": "2025-10-29",
      "occurred_on_precision": "day",
      "country": "TZ",
      "country_name": "Tanzania",
      "continent": "africa",
      "jurisdiction": "TZ",
      "level": "national",
      "tactic_primary": "shutdowns_and_blocking",
      "tactics": [
        "access_ban",
        "shutdowns_and_blocking"
      ],
      "leader_slug": "samia-suluhu-hassan",
      "leader_name": "Samia Suluhu Hassan",
      "issue_of_the_day": "The shutdown coincided with a disputed general election and protests against President Samia Suluhu Hassan's government, which Human Rights Watch later said was followed by killings and broader restrictions once the results were announced.",
      "outcome": "unknown",
      "outcome_on": null,
      "outcome_note": "Authorities did not explain the shutdown, and disruptions to social platforms continued for several days after the vote.",
      "stage": "silence",
      "ladder_note": null,
      "rsf": {
        "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index",
        "year": 2026,
        "rank": 117,
        "of": 180,
        "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 117th of 180",
        "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index"
      },
      "era": "2020s",
      "granularity": "granular",
      "status": "in_effect",
      "case_count": 0,
      "summary": "Tanzania's government restricted internet and social-media access on October 29, 2025, as citizens voted in a general election marked by protests, cutting national internet traffic by nearly 90 percent and leaving both local and foreign journalists unable to report on the vote and its aftermath in real time.",
      "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2025-tanzania-internet-shutdown-election-day"
    },
    {
      "slug": "2020-ethiopia-tigray-internet-blackout",
      "title": "Ethiopia: internet and phone service cut across Tigray",
      "occurred_on": "2020-11-04",
      "occurred_on_precision": "month",
      "country": "ET",
      "country_name": "Ethiopia",
      "continent": "africa",
      "jurisdiction": "ET",
      "level": "state_or_province",
      "tactic_primary": "shutdowns_and_blocking",
      "tactics": [
        "shutdowns_and_blocking"
      ],
      "leader_slug": "abiy-ahmed",
      "leader_name": "Abiy Ahmed",
      "issue_of_the_day": "Not stated in the sources reviewed.",
      "outcome": "ongoing",
      "outcome_on": "2021-05-03",
      "outcome_note": "As of the May 2021 source, service had been only partially restored in the regional capital and surrounding areas.",
      "stage": "silence",
      "ladder_note": "Ethiopia cut internet and phone service to an entire region for months during a civil war, leaving reporters unable to confirm events without traveling there in person; no United States action in the record has cut off a region's communications.",
      "rsf": {
        "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index",
        "year": 2026,
        "rank": 148,
        "of": 180,
        "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 148th of 180",
        "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index"
      },
      "era": "2020s",
      "granularity": "granular",
      "status": "in_effect",
      "case_count": 0,
      "summary": "Ethiopia's government cut internet and telephone service across the Tigray region when war broke out there in November 2020, leaving the region without communication for months and forcing reporters to travel there to learn what was happening.",
      "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2020-ethiopia-tigray-internet-blackout"
    }
  ],
  "other_results": [],
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    "md": "https://thewaronnews.com/search.md?continent=africa&tactic=shutdowns_and_blocking&from=2020"
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  "license": {
    "name": "CC BY 4.0",
    "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"
  }
}