About

My research focuses on examining the power relations involved in data governance and how they shape gainful participation in E-Commerce by Kenya and Uganda. Here, I explore the power of data and its mode of governance in determining a country’s gainful participation in E-Commerce. I also explore the existing gaps in the Kenya and Uganda data policies which work as a kind of open door for big tech and enable them to hold power over a nation's critical data. By examining the different data regulatory regimes in Kenya and Uganda, I discuss how a Pan-African strategy on data governance which supports gainful participation in E-Commerce by Kenya and Uganda can be developed.

In order to examine the stated questions, I employ Gill Stephen’s new constitutionalism theory. This theory provides a useful theoretical framework for understanding power relations in the context of data governance, focusing on how power is exercised and contested in the governance of data. The theory is particularly useful in the context of E-Commerce, where I hypothesize that data governance is critical in determining whether a country will gainfully participate in trade or not. By applying new constitutionalism theory, this section seeks to advance the understanding of the complex interactions between technology, politics, and economics in the digital age, and to provide insights for policymakers, businesses, and other stakeholders on how to navigate the rapidly evolving landscape of data governance and E-Commerce.

My research fits very well with my career work on addressing the coloniality of Africa’s Socioeconomic relationship with the Global North and emerging economies in the Global South. This is aimed at generating alternative proposals and lobbying policymakers to ensure that this relationship works for the true independence and structural transformation of Africa.