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Uganda ordered the shutdown of social media and messaging apps on Tuesday, just two days before a heavily loaded election, after Facebook shut down the accounts of government officials it said tried to manipulate the public debate.
Thursday’s vote will come after one of the bloodiest campaigns in years, as veteran leader Yoweri Museveni seeks a sixth term against pop star-turned-MP Bobi Wine, who has managed to boost a young population that in his most have known only one president.
Wine, who has spent most of the campaign in a bulletproof vest and combat helmet facing tear gas, bullets and numerous arrests, urged his supporters Tuesday to “protect” the elections from tampering.
Despite the popularity of the 38-year-old man, few observers believe he can achieve a victory against Museveni, a 76-year-old former rebel leader who has ruled since 1986 and effectively crushed any opposition.
Facebook, WhatsApp and Twitter all fell in the East African nation on Tuesday after the communications regulator ordered the shutdown of social media.
A member of the electoral commission staff gestures to a screen showing how a ballot should be marked during the upcoming elections. By SUMY SADURNI (AFP) In a letter seen by AFP, the executive director of the Uganda Communications Commission (UCC), Irene Sewankambo, ordered telecommunications companies to “immediately suspend any access and use” of social media and online messaging platforms.
In a televised speech Tuesday night, Museveni said the shutdown was in retaliation for the removal of pro-government Facebook accounts the day before.
“One of the groups, I think it’s called Facebook, or something like that, tried to target our groups,” Museveni said.
“I’m sure the government has shut down social media,” he added.
“I am very sorry for this inconvenience, but we cannot tolerate this arrogance of someone coming to decide for us who is good and who is bad.”
Facebook said Monday it closed a series of accounts linked to the Ministry of Information and Technology that used “fake and duplicate accounts” to “make them seem more popular than they were.”
‘Save the vote’
Some 18 million voters are registered for the presidential and parliamentary vote, which takes place after a chaotic campaign.
Journalists covering opposition demonstrations have been attacked, critics of the government locked up, and election supervisors brought to justice, raising concerns about the transparency of the electoral process.
Two days of protests in November left 54 dead.
Map of Uganda where the presidential elections will be held on January 14. By (AFP) UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres urged “the Ugandan authorities, particularly the security forces, to act in a way that respects international human rights standards,” his spokesman Stephane Dujarric said during a press conference on Tuesday.
Wine, whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi, told reporters that his home had been raided and his staff had been beaten by security forces on Tuesday morning.
He said the ruling party was trying to drive voters away from the polls and urged the public to record any abuse or wrongdoing on voting day.
“We tell you that you will not break the law when you stay and protect your vote. We encourage you to use your phones, use your cameras. Your phone is a very powerful weapon, that camera is very powerful, use it.”
Young and free
The wine boom has shaken Museveni, who has outlived all but two of the African rulers, and has seen aging strongmen in other parts of the continent overthrown in youth-led popular uprisings.
Museveni presides over an increasingly urban and educated population with an average age of less than 16 years.
Although he has campaigned under the slogan “securing his future”, the economic boom he enjoyed during his early years has faded.
Only 75,000 new jobs are created each year for the 700,000 young people who reach working age, trapping the majority in low-paid agricultural labor, says the World Bank.
In Kampala, the capital of Uganda, there are bright yellow billboards for the headline Yoweri Museveni. By SUMY SADURNI (AFP / Archive) “We want change. There are no jobs, there is no money, we cannot go to study and when we go to the hospital, there are no medicines,” said Dorah Wasswa, 23, selling cheap goods from a pot. hole in Kampala street.
Museveni, a shrewd strategist, has outmaneuvered rivals to maintain firm control, though analysts say his position is secured largely through patronage and force, rather than popular appeal.
In this election he faces a divided opposition, with 10 candidates tackling it individually rather than presenting a united front.
Uganda is experiencing an increase in coronavirus cases and the United Nations and human rights bodies say special electoral measures to contain the pandemic have been used as weapons to intimidate Museveni’s opponents and leave the ruling party intact. .
Wine says his supporters are “peaceful but assertive” and promises a non-violent protest in case the election looks rigged.
“We come with only words. He (Museveni) comes to us with bullets, bombs, grenades and tear gas. We are not violent. We are too much for him,” Wine told AFP in a recent interview.
