Equatorial Guinea Restricts Citizens From Sharing, Downloading Files On WhatsApp Amid Sex Scandal
The building was searched by anti-graft officials who came across several CDs that later revealed his sexcapades with different married women.
The Government of Equatorial Guinea has imposed restrictions on its citizens from downloading and sharing multimedia files using mobile data on WhatsApp.
This is coming amid controversies trailing a sex scandal involving the country’s Director General, National Financial Investigation Agency, Baltasar Engonga who was enmeshed in a sex scandal involving the wives of notable people.
It was learnt that the illicit affairs were seen in sex tapes recovered from his house in the course of a fraud investigation against the 54-year-old economist which resulted in the search of his house and office on impromptu notice.
The building was searched by anti-graft officials who came across several CDs that later revealed his sexcapades with different married women.
The video showed contacts with high-profile individuals such as his brother’s wife, his cousin, the President of Equatorial Guinea’s sister, the Director-General of Police’s wife, and the wives of over 20 of the country’s ministries, among others.
The film, located in his office, was alleged to have been recorded with his permission and has since been published online, sparking a media frenzy.
According to a report by the local media outlet Ahora EG, Engonga has been involved in a sexual scandal unmatched in Equatorial Guinea’s history since last October.
Posting an update on this on Tuesday, a local news platform, Ahora EG, reported that the citizens had been complaining about inability to share photos, videos, and audio when using a mobile data connection, leading users to rely exclusively on WiFi networks to share such content.
Speaking with a source, the platform quoted a source as saying, “Should an entire country pay for the actions of a few? The likely decision to restrict access to essential communication functions seems disproportionate and punitive, affecting thousands of users of these platforms who, in addition to serving them for entertainment, also use them for their work and/or educational activities.
“In a world where digitalisation is becoming more and more important, should we shut down our platforms and paralyse our activities due to the actions of a few?
“Currently, users are forced to rely exclusively on WiFi connections, which not only limits their ability to communicate but also interferes with their daily activities.
“This situation has generated a heated debate among the population, where many believe that the measure seems to be more focused on controlling than facilitating communication,” the report added.
