Zimbabwe Army Demands Right To Snoop While Nigeria Opens Freedom To Information

Reuters reports that the army says it wants the state-run Tel One to have a monopoly on international cellphone traffic, so that they can monitor calls, in the interests of national security. Meanwhile I-JNET reports that Nigeria seeks to relax its access to information laws.

The Nigerian Senate passed a 35-clause Freedom of Information Bill on November
15, which would allow Nigerians to access public records and other information
more freely if it becomes law.
The bill would permit citizens the right to access public records while
sustaining the principles of maximum disclosure and declassification of public
information, according to Senate spokesman Victor Ndoma-Egba.

The measure now must be signed by President Olusegun Obasanjo or approved by a
two-thirds majority of the national legislature before it will become law,
according to information at the Web site of the Open Society Justice Initiative.

The only significant amendment to the bill, which Ndoma-Egba said would promote
openness in governance and consequently transparency, called for a three-year
imprisonment for those who falsify or destroy official records to avoid
disclosing them.
Although the bill would allow the public to apply for access to government
records, it also allows government and public institutions the right to refuse
the disclosure of any records containing materials including examination data,
plans for buildings not constructed with public funds, or any documents that
would compromise security if released.

MeanwhileFormer Information Minister Professor Jonathan Moyo's defamation suit against Zanu-PF National Chairman and Chief Speaker John Nkomo and former Home Affairs Minister Dumiso Dabengwa was heard in the Bulawayo High Court yesterday.

Moyo is suing Nkomo and Dabengwa for "lying" to President Mugabe about plans to topple him. Moyo is suing the two for $2 billion.