Uganda cuts internet days before presidential election

The blackout comes as President Yoweri Museveni, criticised for cracking down on opponents, vies for his seventh term.Published On 13 Jan 2026Ugandan authorities have imposed a nationwide internet blackout days before presidential elections in which President Yoweri Museveni is expected to prolong his 40-year rule.A government regulatory body instructed mobile network operators to block public internet access starting at 6pm (15:00 GMT) on Tuesday. Internet monitor NetBlocks later confirmed a “nation-scale disruption to internet connectivity”.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Why are some African countries banning US citizens from entry?list 2 of 3Trump recalls dozens of career diplomats in ‘America First’ pushlist 3 of 3Collision on highway in Uganda kills 46 peopleend of listThe network outage has heightened concerns about repression in the run-up to the January 15 vote, in which 81-year-old Museveni, Africa’s third-longest-serving leader, is being challenged by pop star-turned-politician Bobi Wine.Musevni’s re-election ‘all but locked down’Ugandan security personnel have rounded up hundreds of opposition supporters in advance of the vote and repeatedly fired live bullets and tear gas at pro-Wine campaign rallies. Meanwhile, opposition figure Kizza Besigye, who challenged Museveni in four previous elections, is jailed on charges of treason.The United Nations Human Rights Office has criticised Uganda’s authorities for creating an environment of “widespread repression and intimidation” before the vote.Brussels-based International Crisis Group has assessed that Museveni, “with his firm grip on the levers of state power … has re-election all but locked down.”Wine views his candidacy as a campaign “against impunity,” reported Al Jazeera’s Catherine Soi from Kampala, Uganda. But “he doesn’t believe that he is going to get a free or fair election.”