Esther Passaris raises alarm over AI amid Baltasar Engonga's leaked sex videos

Esther Passaris at Parliament on August 8, 2024. [Boniface Okendo, Standard]

Esther Passaris spoke at the Pan-African Parliament's 4th Ordinary Session on Tuesday, where she raised concerns about the recent viral sex videos from Equatorial Guinea.

The Nairobi County Women representative claimed that these videos could have been generated using Artificial Intelligence (AI).

She said this claim was made by Baltasar Engonga, the Director General of the National Financial Investigation Agency (ANIF) in Equatorial Guinea, though it has not been verified.

“Thank you Mr President for giving me the opportunity to contribute. I want to touch on the African Commission on Human Rights and People’s Rights,” started off Passaris.

“Right now in all the social media, the Director General of the National Financial Investigation Agency in Equatorial Guinea has been trending, Hon. Baltasar Engonga. And he’s been trending because somebody leaked some videos, apparently 400 videos of him having intimate relationships with various women of various stature. And he comes out and says that all of those were AI-generated," Passaris said.

She used this claim to question the measures the African Union is putting in place to protect the rights of Africans.

“I feel that with the new AI coming in, what is the commission doing to ensure that they safeguard people’s rights? Because here, a lot of rights are going to be affected if we don’t have a way to deal with AI in our legislation,” she added.

Nairobi Woman Representative Esther Muthoni Passaris Takes Baltasar Ebang Engonga from Equatorial Guinea Scandal international pic.twitter.com/O4uRsBp6CN — Omwamba ?? (@omwambaKE) November 5, 2024

This comes after authorities reportedly uncovered hundreds of personal videos on Engonga’s office computer during a fraud investigation. The videos allegedly show Engonga with various individuals, some of whom are connected to high-profile families.

The incident has sparked widespread outrage across the country, with many citizens calling for immediate action. Some of the individuals in the videos are said to be married to prominent officials, adding to the controversy and increasing public demand for accountability.

In response, Vice President Teodoro Nguema condemned the behavior in a statement on X (formerly Twitter). He stated that ministries are meant for administrative work, not personal matters.

"Sexual relations in offices are prohibited," Nguema said. He also announced that control mechanisms were in place and warned that anyone found violating the rule would face disciplinary action and could be dismissed.

The Attorney General’s Office, led by Anatolio Nzang Nguema, has opened an investigation into Engonga's actions and the leak of the videos. The investigation will look into whether the videos posed any health risks to the people involved.

The Attorney General also warned that "the population is in danger because, behind each woman involved, there are potentially spouses and other people indirectly exposed."

If Engonga is found guilty, he could face charges for endangering public health, which is a serious offense under Equatorial Guinean law.