Journal of Research in Peace, Gender and Development Vol. 1(4) pp. 129-137, May 2011
Available online@http://www.interesjournals.org/JRPGD
Copyright ©2011 International Research Journals
Review
Combating Cyber Crime in Sub-Sahara Africa;
A Discourse on Law, Policy and Practice
Eric Agwe-Mbarika Akuta1*, Isaac Monari Ong’oa2, Chanika Renee Jones3
1,2
Nelson Mandela School of Public Policy, Southern University Baton Rouge
3
Criminal Justice Department, Southern University Baton Rouge
Accepted 05 April 2011
Prior to the arrival of ICTs in Sub Sahara Africa (SSA), Africa was seen as the Dark Continent. The
development of ICTs was therefore expected to connect Africa to the rest of the world, and establish
it as part of the Global community. This endeavor exposed Africa to the unintended consequences of
the Internet (cybercrime). The manifestations of cybercrime, it’s far reaching and potentially
devastating capacity for harm caught most governments off guard because the existing laws,
legislations and institutions were unable to keep up with the alarming rate at which cybercrime has
diffused. Most governments have struggled to put in place safeguards that can help combat this
malaise. While efforts are under way, they have been largely ineffective at repealing cyber crime.
This statement begs the question, what support can be rendered to strengthen the position of
stakeholders in their fight against cybercrime in SSA. This study sought to address that question by
examining three principal issues: First, it identified the various stakeholders involved in the fight
against cybercrime in SSA. Second, it examined the existing laws, policies and practices employed
by stakeholders to combat this malaise. Third, it discussed the impediments that these stakeholder
structures and institutions face in countering cybercrime. A sound knowledge of these principal
issues will provide policy makers and stakeholders with an in-depth understanding of the various
structures and their existing efforts to combat cyber crime.
Keywords: Cybercrime, information and communication technology, Sub-Sahara Africa
INTRODUCTION
With a new decade beginning, the continent of Africa
which was regarded as “backwards” has been able to get
a leap into the world of ICT. This leap has not come
without a heavy price. The rapid rate of diffusion of
cybercrime in Africa has been a call for concern. This
concern even gets more sickening when literature
indicate that, out of the top ten countries in the world with
a high level of cybercrime prevalence, Sub Sahara Africa
*Corresponding author email: akutaeric@yahoo.com
is host to four of these countries (Nigeria, Cameroon,
Ghana and South Africa).
This rate of cybercrime prevalence has triggered a
renaissance in the fight against cybercrime in SSA. This
fight involves not only law enforcement agencies, but all
stakeholders. Stakeholders in the fight against cyber
crime in Sub Sahara African countries range from the
average man on the street that knows and fraternizes
with cyber criminals to the President of the various
countries who enact decrees and sign laws passed by
the legislature. This fact highlights the wide scope of
whom and what is involved in combating this malaise.
130 J. Res. Peace Gend. Dev.
For the purpose of this study, we will limit ourselves to
the various organized structures and institutions that are
at the fore front of combating cybercrime namely: the
various economic blocs; Economic Community of West
Africa States (ECOWAS), Economic Community of
Central African States, (CEMAC), East African
Community, (EAC) and Southern African Development
Community (SADC), various National Assemblies, Law
Enforcement Agencies, the Judiciary Systems, Crime
Commissions, and the International Police. The
aforementioned stakeholders see cybercrime as a
problem that is indeed wide spread but as indicated, we
will delimit the following geographic area: the cybercrime
“capital” of the world and other well known hot spots for
illegal cybercrime activities. This include: Nigeria,
Cameroon, South Africa, Kenya and other SSA countries
like Zambia and Botswana, will be discussed. This
research will be undertaken by examining the key factors
that influence discourse on law, policy and practice as it
pertains to cybercrime.
Research question
What support can be rendered to strengthen the position
of stakeholders in the fight against cybercrime in SSA?
To realize this research question, the following specific
research questions will be investigated:
Who are the various stakeholders involved in the
fight against cybercrime in SSA?
What laws, policies and practices have been
employed so far, by stakeholders to combat this
malaise?
And what snags have these stakeholders met in
the process of implementing these laws and
policies?
METHODOLOGY
This paper employs the secondary research technique of
data collection and analysis. This will involve the
collection and review of relevant documentation on the
perpetration of cybercrime in SSA. Data to be exploited
includes; published reports; conference abstracts;
newspaper articles and other media coverage;
information accessed through the internet; official records
from government and quasi-governmental institutions
involved in the fight against cybercrime; information from
international organizations like the International
Police(INTERPOL), and the United Nations.
In this article, after a review of the recent literature on
the efforts directed towards the fight against cybercrime
in Sub-Sahara Africa, we will proceed to present our
findings, impediments, and discuss the measures that
can be employed by stakeholders to combat cybercrime
in SSA, by using the integrated approach. With this
approach, we will begin by stating each finding, examine
the impediments that limit its ability to stage a successful
fight
against
cybercrime
and
then
propose
recommendations that can be employed to better fight
cybercrime in SSA.
Primary stakeholders involved
In most regions of the world, including Sub-Saharan
Africa, there exist two main primary stake holders
involved in the fight against cybercrime; law enforcement
agencies made up of both the local and international
police and the anti-crime commissions made of
commissions from various national states and regional
blocs.
Law Enforcement has a long history and it came to
existence as a creation of Emperor Caesar who
established the first standing police in his praetorian
guard. With the evolution of the Criminal Justice System,
this special group of individuals were trained and charged
with the role of being guarantors and enforcers of
established laws (Kipkorir, 2011). This idea is believed to
have diffused to SSA and other parts of the world. For
instance, Kenya Police Department, (2010) sites three
branches of the Kenya Police force that carry these
duties: the regular Kenyan Police in charge of law
enforcement and traffic control; the Administration Police,
responsible for law and order in the rural areas; and the
General Service Unit which is a mobile Para-military
police force, used for the apprehension of dangerous,
syndicated criminals. Winslow (2010), intimates that, in
the regular force, there is a department of Criminal
Investigation
that
investigates
and
prosecutes
cybercriminal activities.
Nigeria has a national and unified Police Force with
two main departments; Criminal Investigation that takes
care of crime detection and prevention, and Mobile Police
unit used to track down hardened criminals. This is
accompanied by two axillaries; the Special Constabulary
and Traffic Warden Service (Nigeria Police Force, 2010).
Cameroon on the other hand has a more complex law
enforcement system based on its French and English
background that stems from colonization. In the fore front
of law enforcement is the police and the gendarmerie.
The police has three units; the Public Security, Mobile
Intervention Wing, and the Special Branch Police unit that
is in charge of crime investigation. The gendarmerie on
the other hand also gets involved in public security but is
regarded as less-citizen friendly (Winslow 2010). South
Africa on the other hand did restructure its police service
in 2010 and now has six divisions. Amongst these
divisions are the Crime Intelligence and detection division
which handles all crime investigations. Under this division
is found the electronic Crime group that is charged with
internet and internet related crimes. Also present, is the
Operations division that handles the day to day security
Akuta et al. 131
issues like regular law and order (South African Police
Service, 2010).
According to INTERPOL, (2011), also present in SSA
countries is the International Police known more
commonly by its acronym INTERPOL. This organization
facilitates cross border police cooperation, supports and
assists all organizations, and authorities whose missions
are to prevent and combat international crime. With its
national bureaus, it carries functions in the 188 member
countries. In SSA, these bureaus are controlled by the
four regional bureaus in Yaoundé for Central Africa,
Abidjan for West Africa, Nairobi for East Africa and
Harare for Southern Africa (INTERPOL, 2011).
Apart from the Law Enforcement Agencies mentioned
above, other primary stake holders in the fight against
cyber crime are the Anti Crime Commissions that have
been formed at international, regional and national levels.
Internationally, The United Nations Office on Drug and
Crime, (2011) created the Commission on Crime
Prevention and Justice (CCPCJ) in 1971 which has been
constantly reviewed to meet the needs of the time. With
the prevalence of cyber crime, CCPCJ has been
equipped with cyber specialists to allow them the ability
to combat national and trans-national crimes. This
commission has aligned with several regional groups and
nation states to foster the fight against crime in general
and cyber crime in particular. At the regional level, the
East African Community Task Force on Cyber Laws
(EAC) is concerned with crafting and enacting cyber laws
that are effective across the East African Region (United
Nations Conference on Trade and Development, 2010).
While these regional groupings are forging ahead,
SSA nation states like Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, South
Africa, Cameroon etc have not been left behind in the
fight against cyber crime. Nigeria, which is regarded as
the hub or safe haven for cyber crime in the world, has
witnessed the creation of two outstanding crime
commissions; the Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission (EFCC) created in 2003 and the Nigerian
Cyber-Crime Working Group (NCWG). While the EFCC is
involved in all economic and financial related crimes, the
NCWG which was created in 2004 implements the
objectives set up by the National Cyber-security Initiative
(NCI) has its eyes more fixed on cyber related crimes
(Maska, 2009).
According to the Financial Intelligence Center (2008),
The Financial Intelligence Center (FIC) established in
2002 is a center that works hand in glove with law
enforcement agencies to fight cyber crime and cyber
related crime in South Africa. This center relates with the
South African police through the cyber crime unit (CCU)
and revenue services, the prosecuting authority, the
asset forfeit and special investigation units. It is a positive
step to have these stake holders in place but their
existence and efforts depend also on the existing laws,
policies and the way they are implemented (Fick, 2009).
Existing laws and policies
Cyber crime is relatively a new form of crime that is
rocking the world today. Research has shown that,
computer and related criminality have become the
phenomenon of the end of the twentieth century and is
rapidly developing in the 21st century. This trend is
believed to continue and will plunge the world in a host of
disarray (Ojedokun, 2005). With the advent of computers
came computer related crimes. This caught the world and
SSA off guard because there were no laws to prosecute
cyber criminals. Existing laws regarded computers as
property and could only prosecute crimes that involved
stealing the whole computer system or destruction of the
computer but had no jurisdictional powers over
information hackers.
Ojedukun (2005) points out that, there is no way law
enforcement officers within African countries could take
action against cyber criminals unless countries first enact
laws that criminalize the activities in which these
offenders engage. Kithi, (2002), indicates that, internet
abuse is rising in Africa and there is no law or the
common existing laws are grossly inadequate to reduce
it. For instance, in Kenya where there is a significant rise
in cyber crime, as of 2002, there existed no laws to deal
with cyber criminals. Existing laws were inadequate and
did not specify how perpetrators of cyber crime were
supposed to be prosecuted when arrested. In the same
way, Makhanya (2001) argues that, as of 2005, laws in
South Africa were ill equipped to handle internet related
crimes. The 1977 Criminal Procedure Act had nothing to
do with the internet when it was being design and so did
not make any stipulations that could cure this 21st century
malaise. These laws being common laws did not take into
account offences that involved the theft and abuse of
data as well as programs found on the computer
(Makhanya, 2001).
It is interesting to observe that, many SSA
governments have had a reawakening stemming from the
speed and volume of cyber crime diffusion within and
without territorial boundaries. This renaissance is
compelling SSA state governments and regional
organizations to enact legislations, laws and form
commissions that not only deal with specific crimes but
that deal with cyber crimes as a whole (Kioni, 2008). In
1998, the Kenyan parliament did pass the Kenya
Communication Act (KCA) to address Information and
Communication Technology (ICT) mishaps. An increase
use of the Internet and its rapid diffusion was
accompanied by crimes that were not virtualized when
the 1998 Act was being drafted. This act did not address
specific issues concerning cybercrime. For this reason,
the KCA was amended twice in 2009 to meet the
demands of the time (Wanjiku, 2009).
According to the Communication Commission of
Kenya (CCK), (2009) the first amendment in section 83U-
132 J. Res. Peace Gend. Dev.
Z criminalized unauthorized access and interception to
computer data and service, modification of computer
material, access with intent to commit offences and
unlawful possession of devices and data. This
amendment also stipulated jail term for the
aforementioned cybercrimes. The second amendment
commonly known as the E- Transaction’s Act of 2009,
went a step further to look at limitations to contract
formations in the internet environment, and liabilities of
service providers, privacy, security and the use of
electronic records and signature to governments. It also
addressed the definition of cybercrime and punishment
as well as e-signature and private policies (C C K, 2009).
Nigeria on the other hand, has been at the spot light
from the international community for its involvement in
cyber crime. It is ranked as the third in the world behind
st
the United States and Britain, and the 1 within the
African continent in the rate of cybercrime prevalence.
This conspicuous position has been a catalyst in the way
the nation has handled issues concerning cybercrime
(Adomi, 2008 & Boateng et al, 2010). In 2003, following
a presidential degree, there was legislative action that
established the Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission of 2004. This commission was vested with
the powers to investigate, prosecute and penalize all
economic and financial crimes relating to terrorism,
money laundering, and drug trafficking and advanced fee
fraud. Although these stipulations did not specifically
mention cybercrime, EFCC does partner with other
organizations in the combat against cybercrime because
nowadays, most economic and financial crimes are
committed with the use of the internet (Longe &
Chiemeke, 2008). To make up for the lapses of the EFCC
Act, and to specifically address the issue of cyber and
cyber related crimes, the Nigerian parliament passed the
Computer Security and Critical Information Infrastructure
Protection Bill in 2005. This bill which is commonly
referred to as the cybercrime bill aims to secure computer
systems and networks and protect critical information,
infrastructure by criminalizing certain computer based
activities (Chawki, 2009). Chawki, (2009); Oriola, (2005)
continue to point out that, with the diverging nature of
cyber crime and a significant increase in number of
advanced fee fraud cases recorded, the Advanced Fee
Fraud and other Fraud related offences Act was passed
in 2006. This Act prescribed ways to combat online
scams and other related cybercrimes by stating harsher
penalties of imprisonment of at least 5years and at most
15years without the option of a fine. This case is similar
to that of the Republic of South Africa which like Nigeria
has been ranked among the top ten countries in world in
cybercrime prevalence (Africa News Monitoring Team,
2010).
As the most advanced economy on the African
continent as a whole and SSA in particular, South Africa
has had its own share of a fast rise in the unintended
consequences of the development of ICT. “This rapid
expansion of computer connectivity has provided
opportunities for
criminals to exploit
security
vulnerabilities in the on-line environment in fast rising
economies like South Africa (Broadhurst, 2006). To catch
up with this malaise, the South Africa government passed
the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act of
2002 (Cole et al, 2008). Chapter thirteen of the act brings
out a clear cut definition of cybercrimes and stipulated
penalties for each offence. These crimes were grouped
into four categories: those involving unauthorized access
to data, interception and interference with data and
computer related extortion, fraud and forgery.
Understanding the trans-national nature in which
cybercrime operates, South Africa aligned with other
European countries as the only African country to sign
and ratify the council of Europe’s treaty on cybercrime.
This treaty obliges member states to criminalize
offenders that indulge in any form of cybercrime and also
cooperate with each other to investigate and punish
culprits guilty of cyber and cyber related crimes (Cole et
al, 2008).
After Nigeria as hub of cybercrime in SSA, Cameroon
tailgates Ghana as king of cybercrime prevalence in
Central Africa. A 2010 report by the McAfee cyber
security firm cites Cameroon as the world’s riskiest
destination for internet surfers with more than a third
(36.7%) of websites hosted in Cameroon being
suspicious (McAfee Inc, 2009). In line with this, the
country
through
its
Ministry
of
Post
and
Telecommunications and the National Agency for
Information and Communication Technologies advanced
a bill to parliament that allows them to set up a cyber
police force, define major crimes, determine legal
procedures to help fight cybercrime. Also, the Cameroon
parliament voted a bill to set up a cyber police force to
fight the alarming rate of cybercrime in the nation
(Mforgham, 2010).
Botswana passed the Cybercrime and Computer
Related Crimes Bill of 2007. This bill defines the
jurisdiction of Botswana in crimes that affect its citizens
and brings out extradition conditions and procedures of
cyber criminals (Cole et al, 2008). The bill also holds
accountable Botswana nationals for infringements
committed not only in Botswana but outside the borders
of Botswana (Botswana National Assembly, 2007).
Zambia came up with the Computer Misuse and Crimes
Act of 2004 to handle cybercrime issues. This dealt with
the criminalization of systems’ intrusion, interception of
data, and system disruption. It also went further to
institute harsh penalties for cybercrimes including prison
sentences of up to twenty five years (Cole et al, 2008).
The enactment of outstanding legislatures and crafting of
policies with extremely harsh punitive measures will
Akuta et al. 133
serve at nothing if the implementation process is taunted.
Practice
To ensure the desired implementation or in order for the
laws, and policies to be effective as intended, several
SSA countries have taken practical steps to facilitate the
implementation process. In Nigeria, the creation of the
EFCC in itself was a bold step towards the fight against
cyber crime. EFCC’s ascension into power in Nigeria
ushered in the creation of specialized units that saw the
effective investigation, prosecution of offenders and
training of staff. These include: the general and assert
investigation unit, the legal and prosecution unit and the
training unit. While the training unit has been able to
organize sessions where law enforcers have been trained
on ways of eradication of crime, the investigation unit
created a monitoring and intelligence unit that assisted in
the gathering of information to facilitate investigation
(Anadi & Jones, 2011).
To facilitate the investigation of cybercrime, the
Operation Eagle Claw was launched. In this operation, a
software that facilitates the sniffing out of fraudulent
emails called the eagle claw software was developed and
deployed (Oates, 2009). It also instituted and carried an
aggressive campaign on educating the public on whistle
blowing and the ills of cyber crime. This was done
through the use of local media, public and private
institutions and all levels of educational establishments
(Maska, 2009). Recognizing that the fight against
cybercrime cannot be won by a single nation or
organization, the EFCC with the assistance of the
Nigerian government has partnered with other countries
and organizations to explore collective ways of combating
this malaise. These include partnering with the United
Nations, other African and West African countries, African
Development Bank, INTERPOL, Microsoft, Western
Union, Yahoo, Google, and Coca cola (Chawki, 2009 &
ANMT, 2010). The creation of a central agency to enforce
crime laws, and the regulation of cybercafés by banning
the operation of overnight cybercafé services has been a
strong step towards curbing cybercrime. These efforts
have been buttressed among other things by the amount
of funds received by various anti-crime commissions. In
2004, the EFCC received an initial funding of about two
million US dollars from the Nigerian Federal government
and about thirty two million US dollars from 2005-2009
from the European Union. In the same year (2004),
NCWG received about seven hundred thousand US
dollars from the Nigerian Federal government to allow
them the ability to smoothly carry on their responsibilities
(Adomi, 2008 & Adeleye, 2009).
The signing of an accord to create and the eventual
creation of a sub-regional bureau of INTERPOL in
Yaoundé for the Central Africa region to help fight transborder crime like cyber crime, vehicle theft, piracy
amongst others has been a major boost to the law
enforcement agency. This was accompanied by the
President of Cameroon signing and providing visa waiver
status for all personnel operating on INTERPOL
passport. He also called on all Central African leaders to
do same so as to allow swift apprehension of cyber and
cyber related criminals (INTERPOL, 2009). Also, there
has been a mass effort on the part of the Cameroon
government to fight crime from a trans-border point of
view. The government together with INTERPOL
organized a working session that involved all police
chiefs in Central Africa to discuss, be educated and adopt
steps that can be taken by the region to fight trans-border
crimes. This included partnering with international
organizations like the United Nations, and the creation of
specialized units and training of specialized law
st
enforcement officers on how to handle 21 century crime
(Mosima, 2009).
According to Mukinda, (2009), like Nigeria, Kenya
revamped its Cyber Crime Unit of the police force by
embarking on a program to get its law enforcement
officers adequately trained with specialized skills to
handle cyber crime offenders. In 2009, 18 police officers
were sponsored to receive a four months special training
in the United States on how to handle emerging internetbased criminal trends and the use of specialized
equipment to track down criminals. This was followed by
a retraining of other members of the Cyber Crime Unit by
their colleagues who had been trained in the US.
In the same way, Kenya Network Information Center
(KENIC) which works under the auspices of the Ministry
of Information and Communication and the Kenya police,
has established a Computer Security Incidence
Response Team (CSIRT). This response team relays
computer and network related security threats, and
vulnerabilities to the local internet communities, and send
out a weekly news letter of recorded activities to
members on the CSIRT mailing list (KENIC, 2006).
Impediments and plausible explanations
The formation of commissions, crafting of laws and
policies to fight cybercrime in SSA has been on the rise
within the last decade. This fight still has a long way to
go. From the reviewed literature above, we found that the
challenges SSA countries face alike other parts of the
world range from issues that involve all stake holders.
These issues ranged from problems involving the
common man on the street to the presidents of various
nations. Due to the varied nature of these challenges we
limited our findings to the various institutions and bodies
that are directly involved in the fight against cyber crime.
Cybercrimes are international in nature and do not
respect political boundaries. As a result several SSA
countries tried to come up with coordinated efforts within
their regions, in Africa and the world in general. These
134 J. Res. Peace Gend. Dev.
efforts have seen Africa Regional blocks like EAC,
CEMAC, ECOWAS and SADC work towards harmonizing
their laws, holding working sessions to train law
enforcement officers and partnering with other
International organizations and companies to fight
cybercrime. This strategy has somehow been a success
because through regional seminars and workshops,
countries were able to share knowledge on types of laws
and implementation strategies with each other. However
serious coordination had only been there by word of
mouth rather than actions and there was little done on the
part of the African Union (AU) as a whole in bringing
countries together to fight this malaise. There is a need
for the AU to rise up to the challenge and take cyber
crime as a continental war. Like there is an AU Peace
Keeping Force that handles issues of conflict in Africa,
AU needs to organize itself and come out with an AU
police force that will be given adequate training on
cybercrime issues. This force will then be deployed to
various countries with a high prevalence of cybercrime
like Nigeria, Ghana, Cameroon and South Africa. There
is a need for AU to declare war on cyber crime if the
continent needs to be salvaged from this malaise and not
leave at the mercy of regional blocs and individual
countries. The need for an AU Special Police Force
against cyber and cyber related crimes even grows
stronger when one observes the fact that, law
enforcement is impeded by national borders while cyber
criminals are not. While internet is borderless for
criminals, law enforcement officers must respect the
boundaries and sovereignty of other nations as well as
face the difficulties of disparity in legal systems and law
(DiGregory, 2000).
The legal systems of SSA countries were based on
the remnants of colonization. While countries in the
former British Africa, like Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Uganda
etc had their laws tied to the British common law, others
like Ivory Coast, Gabon, DR Congo, etc were tied to the
French civil law. This got further complicated with
countries like Cameroon that saw France and Britain as
colonial masters thus function with both civil and common
laws respectively. With this disparity in legal systems,
different SSA countries treated cyber criminals differently.
As DiGregory, (2000) puts it, when the laws of one
country criminalize certain activities and another
country’s laws do not in the same magnitude, cooperation
in solving crime and prosecuting perpetrators may not be
easy to come by. According to the Chair of EFCC Farida
Waziri, because of the pressure and level of prosecution
of cybercriminals in Nigeria, a reasonable number of
cyber criminals have started migrating to other West
African states to perpetrate their malicious acts (ANMT,
2010). This has seen a rise in prevalence of cybercrime
in some countries that share a common border with
Nigeria. The present ranking of Ghana and Cameroon as
being among the top ten countries in the world with a
high cybercrime prevalence rate as reported by Ghana’s
Daily Graphic is testimony to Mrs. Waziri’s claim (ANMT,
2010).
In view of this, like aforementioned, the AU needs to
come in, bring together all member countries, establish
and pass universal laws and penalties that govern all
trans-border crimes. This will send a message to
cybercrime perpetrators that SSA is no safe haven for
cybercrime perpetration because the same crime will be
prosecuted and punished alike all over the continent.
While this is being anticipated, countries that have
passed tough laws on cybercrime but still see their
nationals migrate to other countries should follow the
example of Botswana.
In 2007, Botswana passed the Cybercrime and
Computer Related Crimes Bill of 2007. This bill defines
the jurisdiction of Botswana in crimes that affect its
citizens and brings out extradition conditions and
procedures of cyber criminals (Cole et al, 2008). The bill
also holds accountable Botswana nationals for
infringements committed not only in Botswana but
outside the borders of Botswana (Botswana National
Assembly, 2007). Once Botswana’s example is followed,
nationals of all SSA countries will understand that,
irrespective of where they indulge in cyber crime or other
trans-border crimes, they are still subject to prosecution
under their country’s legal system once they return home
or extradited. This will go a long way to eliminate the idea
that SSA is a paradise for cyber crime perpetration.
Putting together a unique Special Police force and
harmonizing laws to define criminal behavior and coming
together under the umbrella of AU is inadequate to solve
the cybercrime problem. We realized that, SSA countries
had tried to partner with certain organizations and
developed countries to get equipment needed for
detection and investigation. Nigeria for example, had
partnered with the Queensland Police Department
(Gedda, 2008), Irrespective of these efforts; SSA is still
considerably backward in equipment to fight cybercrime.
The quality of law enforcement officers needed is only as
good as the tools that are at their disposal. Many of the
criminal cases that are out there are investigated and
solved with the use of E-evidence. With the availability of
new technologies, criminals have the ability to encrypt
communications, hide their identities, and function
anonymously. This can only be cracked down by a police
force that has the required technology to decipher this.
There is a strong and desperate need for state
governments to provide funding to the anti-cybercrime
agencies involved to enable them purchase modern
technological equipment that will match them to the
strength of the crimes committed and not continue to play
a catch-up game.
It is interesting to note that, some SSA countries are
working towards avoiding the catch-up game by getting
their law enforcement officers for in-service and
specialized training. In 2009 Kenya sent 18 police officers
to the US for in-service training on ways of using modern
Akuta et al. 135
Conceptual model
LAW
ENFORCEMENT
LEGISLATORS
Shared
Knowledge
ANTI CRIME
Base
Cybercrime
Laws
+
Policies
=
Perpetration
Rate
Practices
COMMISSIONS
RESEARCHERS
equipment to detect and investigate cybercrime. This is a
laudable move that needs to be encouraged (Mukinda,
2009). Despite the presence of the 18 specialized trained
police officers, in January, 2011, the Kenya police
website was hacked by cybercriminals. This brings us to
pose the question, what can 18 specialized police officers
do in a country that is experiencing unprecedented
growth in the ICT sector? Southwood, 2010 indicates
that, as of 2010, Kenya had about 3.5 million Internet
users and a daily internet use growth of 2% in 2007 to
5% in 2009 as indicated by a market research company
known as Synovate. There is a need for nation states to
retrain more specialized police officers in cybercrime
related fights. Also, computer studies and issues
concerning cybercrime should be one of the top
disciplines on the curriculum of Police Academies.
Another issue of serious concern is the high levels of
computer illiteracy among law enforcement officers. Most
law enforcement officers never had the opportunity to use
a computer, talk less of having computer lessons while in
the Police Academy. This is partly due to the fact that,
entry levels into police academy are very low. Entry level
into the lowest rank of the police academy in SSA
countries is very low. For instance, in Cameroon, to be
qualified to get into the Police Academy at the lowest
rank which is Police Constable, candidates are expected
to have completed secondary school with at least a pass
in three papers of the General Certificate of Education
(GCE) Exams (tenth grade). In Kenya, to get into the
lowest rank of the police academy which is constable;
candidates are expected to have completed Secondary
school with at least a C- grade in the Kenya Certificate of
Secondary Education Exams (twelfth grade). This bring
us to the question; how can we expect a tenth grader or a
twelve grader with a few months of law enforcement
training to measure up with university students or and
graduates in the ability to operate the internet? SSA
countries need to change their criteria for recruitment of
students into the Police Academy. Student recruits into
these academies should be selected from college
graduates with degrees in IT, Criminal Justice, and IT
related fields.
As represented on the model above, we believe that, if
the various stakeholders: law enforcement, legislators,
anticrime commissions and researchers, come together
and share a common knowledge, there will be a high
probability that up to date laws and policies will be crafted
by legislatures. The implementation process of these
laws and policies will also receive some fine tuning based
on findings from various researchers. Once all these are
put together, it is evident that the rate of cybercrime
perpetration will plummet.
Outline for future research
This paper was most concerned with the identification of
stake holders involved in the fight against cybercrime. It
also tried to discuss the present situation in SSA as
concerns laws, legislations, policies, and how they are
implemented. Although it did try to identify the
impediments that the institutions and implementation
process has suffered from, it did fall short of having a
detailed examination to see how far these steps have
been successful. It is our wish to subsequently continue
this work to see how successful these steps taken by
136 J. Res. Peace Gend. Dev.
various stakeholders in SSA countries have been
successful.
Amongst other things, we are suggesting a case study
approach for an outcome evaluation on the
implementation process and achievements of the various
crime commissions in SSA. Also to be considered is the
fact that, since cybercrime is a trans-border crime, we
also recommend to other researchers a replication of this
research in other parts of the world. This will at the long
run provide findings in all corners of the globe and make
the existence of a safe haven for cybercrime
extinguished.
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