Uganda has banned Facebook and WhatsApp two days ahead of a presidential election involving Yoweri Museveni, one of Africa’s longest-serving leaders and opposition front-runner Bobi Wine, a popular singer.
In a letter to Internet Service Providers (ISP) dated January 12, Uganda’s communications regulator ordered them to block all social media platforms and messaging apps until further notice.
A source in Uganda’s telecom sector said the government had made clear to the executives at telecom companies that the social media ban was in retaliation for Facebook blocking some pro-government accounts.
Neither Ibrahim Bbossa, Uganda Communications Commission spokesman nor government spokesman Ofwono Opondo answered calls requesting comment. An aide to Minister of Information Judith Nabakooba said she was unable to comment at the moment.
“Any efforts to block online access to journalists or members of the public are unacceptable breaches of the right to information,” the International Press Institute, a global media watchdog, said in a statement.
Uganda is a Western ally, a prospective oil producer and is considered a stabilising force in a region where war has plagued some neighbours. It also contributes the biggest contingent of an African Union force fighting Islamist insurgents in Somalia.
At a news conference on Tuesday, Wine and two other opposition candidates - Patrick Amuriat and Mugisha Muntu - urged Ugandans to turn out and “protect their votes” by staying at polling stations to observe counting.
(Reuters)
