Uganda still engulfed by social media blackout

Ugandans are still facing social media connectivity issues as  social platforms have not been restored since the presidential elections ended. 

On the eve of its presidential election on January 13, 2021, there was a total internet shut down in the country as per the directives of the government. 

Social platforms remain switched off on Monday, January 18, 2021 despite the internet restoration that was done partly. There was no statement on when the social platforms would be restored.

In a pre-election address, President Yoweri Museveni announced the indefinite ban on Facebook in Uganda. 

According to him, Facebook was supporting the opposition when they banned accounts belonging to the supporters of the ruling party. 

On January 12, 2021, Telecom company MTN issued a statement saying they had received a directive from the Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) to switch off the internet. 

"MTN Uganda informs its esteemed customers and other stakeholders that National Telecommunication Operators in the country, have received a directive from Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) to immediately suspend access and use, direct or otherwise of all social media platforms and online messaging applications over the network until further notice," read part of the statement. 

"MTN Uganda has, in compliance with its National Telecommunications Operator License and in accordance with MTN’s group-wide Digital Human Rights due diligence framework implemented the directive," the statement confirmed. 

Museveni, 76, who took power in 1986, recently ran for reelection and won. His closest challenger was Robert Kyagulanyi, 38, a musician turned politician popularly known by his stage name, Bobi Wine . 

However, the country lost $8.9 million USD for the five days the internet was completely cut off.

Internet Society Uganda chapter Vice President Mutegeki Cliff, through a tweet, highlighted the cost of digital blackout in the country. 

Ugandans are now relying on the use of VPN applications. However, the government has disabled some VPNs and threatened to arrest any Ugandan found using VPN networks.

The slowness of the internet in the country as reported by several Ugandans has affected many  business aspects such as banking and digital marketing for small businesses.

Interestingly, some government organizations like the Uganda Police Force are still communicating with citizens through social media, yet the citizens are officially locked out from social media platforms.

On January 26, Uganda police tweeted a statement regarding a murder case.