Uganda has been using a surveillance program, codenamed Fungua Macho, or “open eyes” in Swahili, to spy on opposition politicians and anyone “deemed dangerous to state security,” according to an investigation by Privacy International and BBC Newsnight. Policy documents dating back to 2012 detail the use of the security software called Finfisher and 70 intelligence officers to collect data on potential threats, although Ugandan authorities deny the operation’s existence.

Uganda isn’t alone. African countries are entering the world’s newest arms race, for cyber weapons and surveillance, at a rapid clip. According to a recent Wall Street Journal report, an estimated 29 countries around the world now have formal or military units dedicated to cyber warfare, and 63 countries have used cyber surveillance on their own citizens or abroad. Of those, four were in sub-Saharan Africa…

African governments are stepping up surveillance of their own people