Spy Cameras, Public Portal: Azimio's Plan To Counter Govt During Protests

The Azimio la Umoja coalition has turned to technology in a bid to nab those who intend to cause mayhem during their planned protests on Monday, March 27.

National Assembly Minority Leader Opiyo Wandayi in a press release dated Sunday, March 26 announced that the coalition has developed a web platform akin to a public portal that Kenyans can access with a smartphone/laptop and internet connectivity.

The website under Azimio's Movement for the Defence of Democracy (MDD) is a secure platform whereby Kenyans are invited to post photos, videos and audio of the demonstrations in real-time from across the country.

Screengrab of Azimio's MDD homepage for uploading footage of the demonstrations. /MDDKENYA.COM

"In the face of real threat to the free media, we wish to assure Kenyans that we have put in place a secure web platform where members of the public are invited to post occurrences in form of photos, videos and audios during our weekly peaceful demonstrations.

"This material will be available for the world to see. This will enable us to keep the public and all stakeholders informed of progress and real-time occurrences across the country," Wandayi stated in part.

In addition, Kenyans who wish to post the aforementioned content can use their phones or cameras and can access the platform from anywhere in the country and post anonymously.

In addition, the coalition has set up spy cameras featuring IP-enabled services, which are services and applications making use of Internet Protocol (IP) including, but not limited to, voice over IP and other services and applications provided through wireline, cable, wireless and satellite facilities, and any other facility that is capable of connecting users dialling or entering the emergency numbers to public safety answering points.

"All those that intend to cause mayhem will also be captured through a number of our IP-enabled spy cameras that will transmit to our cloud servers in real-time," Wandayi added.

The statement from Azimio came a few hours after Police Inspector General (IG) Japhet Koome outlawed the planned protests, stating that "People are allowed to come to the city. However, if you have plans to bring violence and if you are armed with offensive weapons such as machetes, stones, and clubs, you will face the music."

Koome further remarked that police officers will take pictures of those who will cause chaos so that they can face the law.

The IG made the statement in the wake of widespread condemnation of the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) for circulating false protest photos, which forced the investigative agency to apologise and clarify that the mixup was a result of overwhelming information sent to it by members of the public under its #FichuaKwaDCI campaign.

How To Upload

Start by visiting the portal mddkenya.info and click on 'Upload Media' at the top left-hand side of your screen.

This should take you to a portal where you have the choice of uploading photos, videos and audio of the protests as they take place.

Click on the option of your choosing and upload the photo, video or audio from your device, and include information regarding the footage (also called captioning).

Once done, click on 'post' and it will reflect on the home page of the MDD website. The photos and videos, as Viral Tea also found out, can also be downloaded by members of the public from the home page.

Screenshot of the back end of the MDD website. /MDDKENYA.INFO