Editor's note: Stephen Ndegwa is a Nairobi-based communications expert, lecturer and scholar at the United States International University-Africa, author and international affairs columnist. The article reflects the author's opinions and not necessarily the views of CGTN.

From what has been reported in the international, nay, Western media, one would be forgiven for thinking China has just done something abominable. In the last 24 hours, audiences around the world have been treated to screaming headlines across different media platforms after Chinese lawmakers voted unanimously to adopt the National Security Law for Hong Kong on June 30.

Sample the following from the usual suspects (Who are the usual suspects? I think we should list the publications): "Hong Kong Security Law Gives Beijing Broad New Powers"; "Hong Kong security law: China passes controversial legislation"; "China condemned over new Hong Kong security laws"; "China passes Hong Kong security law, deepening fears for future."

Well, similar headlines will continue for a while as the agents of China's destabilization continue smarting from enactment of the new deterrent law, and denial to the fact that Hong Kong is, in both theory and practice, a fully-fledged Chinese territory. Ironically, they are more aggrieved than the "victim," which betrays their real intention.

The violence in Hong Kong, which started last year, was simply not tolerable. It has brought needless damage to the socio-economic and political fabric of the Special Administrative Region (SAR). Worse, this damage has been exacerbated by the negative impact of the subsequent COVID-19 pandemic.

Anyway, how can a law that defends any country from secession, sabotage, subversion, meddling and terrorism be such a horrible thing, as the Western media would like the world to believe? The U.S.' deception is more dangerous to the sovereignty of independent nations than any internal laws.

For instance, early last month, President Donald Trump threatened to unleash the National Guard, that is, the U.S. army, against thousands of violent protesters during the recent demonstrations against the death of George Floyd in the hands of the police. The move was widely condemned by American leaders across the board, including the military's retired top brass. 

Europe has also forgotten its ugly colonial history, particularly in Africa. Rather than let former colonies determine their own destiny after the restoration of self-rule, some European countries continued using covert means to ensure that they could influence the newly elected administrations to safeguard their (colonial) vested interests.

But due to the fact that the fledgling African economies had negligible political and economic muscle, it has taken decades for them to overcome this stratagem, which has included machinations of regime change and even coup d'états. It is just in the last few decades that African countries have started shaking off the yoke of external manipulation, and this has widened their scope of cooperation.

While democracy is a positive mode of development, no one has a right to dictate the kind of governance or freedoms that any country should enjoy. In the 1980s and 1990s, for example, many African countries were at loggerheads with Western countries for the latter inciting violence and subversion in the guise of supporting the fight for multi-party democracy.

During his 24-year rule, Kenya's late second president Daniel arap Moi fought off many underhand attempts by former colonial power, the U.K. and its Western allies to determine the direction of the country's national destiny. Indeed, Moi blamed these foreign powers for the destabilization of his government and the near disintegration of national unity.

Other African countries including Uganda, Rwanda and Zimbabwe have also stood up against external bullying. During a visit to Zimbabwe on April 28, 2019, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni said that former British colonies such as Kenya, Zimbabwe and South Africa were still battling with the impact of colonialism, particularly on land issues, and lambasted the Western powers which had imposed sanctions on Zimbabwe.

Looking back with the benefit of hindsight, Africa can decipher the massive misinformation and disinformation campaign surrounding Hong Kong security law. This awareness has been heightened by the fact that China and Africa are now close partners across many sectors. African countries can tell who is on the side of the truth between China and those who claim the security law is an affront to human rights.

It is instructive that African countries were more socially, politically and economically stable during the much maligned one-party rule. In fact, many can relate to the success of the HK's 'One Country, Two Systems' principle, as they also had free economies thriving under the current political systems.

While centralized political power has its challenges, it is more preferable for its predictability and stability. But of course, those who think otherwise use political pluralism as a "divide and rule" tactic in order to entrench their selfish interests in the ensuing national discordance.

Suffice to say that the so called Western democracy has been the bane of Africa's self-determination because of its "anything goes" disruptive nature. In trying to convince the world of the negativity of the national security law for Hong Kong, the West could as well be singing to the birds in Africa.

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