Zim’s Thompson Chengeta engages Musk

Story By Shepherd Sekenhamo

Zimbabwean Professor Thompson Chengeta who hails from the ‘ghetto streets’ of Mambo Township in Gweru was part of the delegates at the recently held AI Summit, where he engaged X owner Elon Musk regarding the rights of digital platform users.

Chengeta did his Advanced Level at Tongogara High School in Shurugwi before completing a law degree at the Midlands State University and is now working with the United Nations.

Just recently, he concluded the drafting of a hypothetical case for the upcoming 2024 Nelson Mandela World Human Rights Moot Court Competition.

One of the central issues explored in this hypothetical case pertains to the right to identity.

A key facet of this case involves probing what the right to identity signifies in the digital age. It has been posited by some that in this current world, individuals exist in two distinct forms: as physical beings and as digital beings.

Historically, the right to identity has primarily revolved around the identity of the physical being, and it has been the State’s responsibility to safeguard, uphold and fulfill this right.

This alignment between the right to identity and the State’s role is understandable, as in the past, only the state possessed the authority to significantly impact such a right.

However, with the advent of the digital age and the emergence of the concept of digital identity, non-state actors, such as Musk, now possess the capacity to influence and shape the digital identities of individuals and populations in various ways.

The pivotal question that Prof Chengeta posed to Musk, which mirrors the question that will be hotly debated in the moot competition, is whether, by exercising his right to property and unilaterally transforming the platform formerly known as “Twitter” into “X” and altering its functionalities, he can effect substantial changes to the digital identities of those using the platform.

Moreover, is such a transformation congruent with the right to identity? Does a conflict of interests or rights exist between the right to property and the right to identity in these circumstances, and if so, how can such rights be balanced?