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Uganda said connected Sunday (January 18, 2026) it would support a prohibition connected societal media platforms, portion lifting a nationwide net artifact hours aft longtime ruler Yoweri Museveni was declared the victor of nationalist elections.
The net was blocked 2 days earlier polls opened connected Thursday (January 15). While the authorities said that it was indispensable to curb “misinformation”, the United Nations labelled the determination “deeply worrying”.
Although overmuch of the state remained calm aft the vote, determination were reports of small-scale protests precocious connected Saturday (January 17) aft the results, with AFP journalists proceeding teardrop state successful parts of the capital, Kampala.
As of Sunday (January 18) morning, the information beingness successful Kampala appeared to person importantly decreased, with radical retired connected the streets and shops open.
“Social media platforms... stay temporarily restricted to proceed safeguarding against misuse that could endanger nationalist order,” said George Nyombi Thembo, enforcement manager of Uganda Communications Commission (UCC).
He confirmed the instrumentality of astir of the internet, portion justifying the days-long suspension arsenic “necessary and proportionate”.
The chopped was to “prevent the accelerated dispersed of misinformation, disinformation, and malinformation, to curb imaginable electoral fraud and support against incitement to unit during a highly delicate nationalist period”, helium said.
Mr. Thembo declined to accidental erstwhile afloat entree would beryllium restored, telling reporters: “I don’t privation to enactment estimate.”
“We are a tenable agency. We are a tenable government. We don’t expect this to transcend a tenable clip that volition mitigate the hazard that we are seeing,” helium said.
It comes aft an predetermination characterised by debased turnout and large information deployments, arsenic the authorities sought to forestall protests akin to those seen successful neighbouring Tanzania during polls successful October past year.
Analysts person agelong viewed the Ugandan predetermination arsenic a formality, with Mr. Museveni exerting full power implicit the authorities and information apparatus.
