The Malian government allegedly shut down twitter and Facebook on Wednesday, following protests that resulted in three casualties and several injuries. Three were shot dead in Bamako, Mali’s capital, on Wednesday and others were wounded as police opened fire to disperse a protest over the arrest of the outspoken talk show host. The first major protest in Bamako since the military coup in 2012 was in reaction to the ‘unwarranted’ arrest of radio personality, Mohamed Youssouf Bathily, popularly known as Ras Bath. Bath is known to often attack policies of the President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta administration, on a show called Cards on the Table on Maliba FM radio.

The media personality is being investigated for allegedly breaking public morality rules. He suggested that Mali’s armed forces were on the back foot in the battle against jihadi groups, which are fighting for power in the north of the country, as well as suggesting that President Keïta was unfit to orchestrate a military victory over the militants, Africanews reported.

The blocking of Twitter and Facebook, moments after the protest were reported to have turned violent, suggests that the two events may not be completely exclusive. Restricting access to social media is not foreign to African countries but, it usually occurrs during presidential elections. Governments in Ethiopia, Congo, Chad, Uganda, and elsewhere have found elections are a particularly popular time to crack down on social media. Acknowledged as one of Africa’s role models for best democratic practices, Ghana caught democracy watchdogs off guard by curtailing the use of social media and the right to free speech around the elections in November. While security and political stability are the reasons often cited, Newsweek interpreted this as a possible attempt to thwart the efforts of election monitors.

The episode in Mali differs from its predecessors, however, as it is not in lieu of elections. The protest also reflected public discontent over corruption, unemployment, cost of living and insecurity, a block on media access can be viewed as a move to muzzle frustrated voices within the polity.

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