This report provides a synthesis of the 11 country reports included in the Smart City Surveillance in Africa publication on: Algeria, Egypt, Kenya, Mauritius, Mozambique, Rwanda, Senegal, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. The research focuses on the use of smart surveillance technologies in public spaces – including facial recognition and vehicle number plate recognition – and the analysis of this data, often using AI, at centralised control centres.
The research traces the evolution of surveillance from colonial-era intelligence networks to today’s digitally enabled public spaces monitoring systems. It identifies the key actors, including government departments and agencies, foreign technology companies, and local private sector actors involved in the supply and implementation of Smart Cities.