Uganda Regulator Orders Social Media Shutdown Before Tense Polls

Uganda’s communications regulator has ordered internet service
providers to shut down social media and messaging services, just
two days before a tense presidential election.

In a letter seen by news agencies on Tuesday, Uganda
Communications Commission (UCC) Executive Director Irene Sewankambo
ordered telecommunications companies to “immediately suspend any
access and use” of social media and online messaging platforms.

An industry insider who spoke to AFP news agency on condition of
anonymity said the order was first communicated in “nasty and
aggressive” phone calls to the telecommunications companies on
Tuesday morning. The calls made it clear the order was retaliation
for Facebook deleting pro-government accounts for seeking to
manipulate public debate before Thursday’s key polls.

The list of banned social media sites include Facebook, Twitter,
WhatsApp, Signal and Viber. Some of these were already offline on
Tuesday.

On Monday, a list of over 100 virtual private networks was
distributed to internet service providers by the UCC with orders to
block them, according to the insider.

UCC spokesman Ibrahim Bbosa told AFP: “I am not aware of a
directive to switch off internet or social media platforms.”

“There has been slow connectivity on the platforms which can be
partly due to heavy traffic as a result of the forthcoming
elections” he said.

Meanwhile, Bobi Wine, the main challenger of longtime President
Yoweri Museveni, said on Tuesday raided his home and beat two
security guards.

Bobi Wine, a popular singer and politician whose real name is
Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, said the raid on his compound in
Kampala and the arrest of his guards happened while he was doing an
interview with Kenya’s Hot 96 FM radio station.

“I have to end the interview because I can see soldiers beating
my security guards,” he said.

Patrick Onyango, police spokesman for the capital Kampala,
denied Bobi Wine’s home had been raided or that anyone was
arrested, saying: “We were just rearranging our security posture in
the area near his home, specifically removing some
checkpoints.”

While security forces have cracked down on the opposition at
previous polls, the run-up to this year’s vote has been especially
violent. In November, 54 people were killed as soldiers and police
quelled protests after Bobi Wine was imprisoned.

“The terror, frankly, is unprecedented,” said Kizza Besigye, a
veteran opposition leader who challenged longtime President Yoweri
Museveni in four elections. “Violence, terror seem to be scaled up
with every coming election. This election has witnessed untold
violence. It gets worse and worse by the day.”

Charged atmosphere
At 38, Wine is half the age of Museveni and has attracted a large
following among young people in a nation where 80 percent of the
population is under 30.

He is considered the frontrunner among 10 candidates challenging
the former rebel leader who seized power in 1986.

Bobi Wine and other leading opposition candidates said they had
launched a concerted effort to protect against vote rigging at
polling stations.

They are urging their supporters to stay within 100 metres (328
feet) of polling stations rather than return home as the electoral
commission is demanding. That means potential confrontations with
security forces.

Police and military personnel now patrol the streets in parts of
Kampala.

Ugandan authorities have asserted an urgent need to prevent the
spread of the coronavirus in imposing restrictions on presidential
candidates, including a ban on campaigns in Kampala and other urban
areas.

Many among Bobi Wine’s campaign team are now in prison. Wine has
been arrested many times and sometimes beaten in the past year for
alleged offences such as disobeying lawful orders. He has not been
convicted of any charges.

Museveni has accused Bobi Wine of being “an agent of foreign
interests”. The septuagenarian leader has defied calls for his
retirement, saying he has been elected many times by Ugandans who
love him.

Ugandan polls are often marred by allegations of rigging. The
country has never seen a peaceful transfer of power since
independence from Britain in 1962.

SOURCE : NEWS AGENCIES

Uganda’s communications regulator has ordered internet service
providers to shut down social media and messaging services, just
two days before a tense presidential election.

In a letter seen by news agencies on Tuesday, Uganda
Communications Commission (UCC) Executive Director Irene Sewankambo
ordered telecommunications companies to “immediately suspend any
access and use” of social media and online messaging platforms.

An industry insider who spoke to AFP news agency on condition of
anonymity said the order was first communicated in “nasty and
aggressive” phone calls to the telecommunications companies on
Tuesday morning. The calls made it clear the order was retaliation
for Facebook deleting pro-government accounts for seeking to
manipulate public debate before Thursday’s key polls.

The list of banned social media sites include Facebook, Twitter,
WhatsApp, Signal and Viber. Some of these were already offline on
Tuesday.

On Monday, a list of over 100 virtual private networks was
distributed to internet service providers by the UCC with orders to
block them, according to the insider.

UCC spokesman Ibrahim Bbosa told AFP: “I am not aware of a
directive to switch off internet or social media platforms.”

“There has been slow connectivity on the platforms which can be
partly due to heavy traffic as a result of the forthcoming
elections” he said.

Meanwhile, Bobi Wine, the main challenger of longtime President
Yoweri Museveni, said on Tuesday raided his home and beat two
security guards.

Bobi Wine, a popular singer and politician whose real name is
Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, said the raid on his compound in
Kampala and the arrest of his guards happened while he was doing an
interview with Kenya’s Hot 96 FM radio station.

“I have to end the interview because I can see soldiers beating
my security guards,” he said.

Patrick Onyango, police spokesman for the capital Kampala,
denied Bobi Wine’s home had been raided or that anyone was
arrested, saying: “We were just rearranging our security posture in
the area near his home, specifically removing some
checkpoints.”

While security forces have cracked down on the opposition at
previous polls, the run-up to this year’s vote has been especially
violent. In November, 54 people were killed as soldiers and police
quelled protests after Bobi Wine was imprisoned.

“The terror, frankly, is unprecedented,” said Kizza Besigye, a
veteran opposition leader who challenged longtime President Yoweri
Museveni in four elections. “Violence, terror seem to be scaled up
with every coming election. This election has witnessed untold
violence. It gets worse and worse by the day.”

Charged atmosphere
At 38, Wine is half the age of Museveni and has attracted a large
following among young people in a nation where 80 percent of the
population is under 30.

He is considered the frontrunner among 10 candidates challenging
the former rebel leader who seized power in 1986.

Bobi Wine and other leading opposition candidates said they had
launched a concerted effort to protect against vote rigging at
polling stations.

They are urging their supporters to stay within 100 metres (328
feet) of polling stations rather than return home as the electoral
commission is demanding. That means potential confrontations with
security forces.

Police and military personnel now patrol the streets in parts of
Kampala.

Ugandan authorities have asserted an urgent need to prevent the
spread of the coronavirus in imposing restrictions on presidential
candidates, including a ban on campaigns in Kampala and other urban
areas.

Many among Bobi Wine’s campaign team are now in prison. Wine has
been arrested many times and sometimes beaten in the past year for
alleged offences such as disobeying lawful orders. He has not been
convicted of any charges.

Museveni has accused Bobi Wine of being “an agent of foreign
interests”. The septuagenarian leader has defied calls for his
retirement, saying he has been elected many times by Ugandans who
love him.

Ugandan polls are often marred by allegations of rigging. The
country has never seen a peaceful transfer of power since
independence from Britain in 1962.

SOURCE : NEWS AGENCIES