"Uganda's government has continued its harsh crackdown on dissent in the country ahead of a Thursday election that the United Nations Human Rights Office says is taking place in an atmosphere of repression and intimidation. Recently, the Ugandan government ordered local rights groups to halt work investigating election integrity. Now, it has initiated a total internet blackout. The blackout was confirmed by web tracker NetBlocks. In a post on X, NetBlocks said, "Live network data show a nation-scale disruption to internet connectivity in Uganda.""
"A November UN report claimed that Ugandan authorities began detaining hundreds of opposition supporters well ahead of a January 15 election in which President Yoweri Museveni looks to extend his four-decade rule over the country. Museveni came to power in 1986 after leading a five-year rebellion. He is currently Africa's third-longest ruling head of state. Museveni has changed the constitution twice to remove age and term limits and his control of institutions leaves no room for an election upset in the East African country of 46 million."
Ugandan authorities imposed a nation-scale internet blackout ahead of a Thursday election, with the outage confirmed by web tracker NetBlocks. The Uganda Communications Commission ordered internet providers to cut access to prevent alleged misinformation and electoral fraud, and some international phone calls were blocked. The government instructed local rights groups and two watchdogs to halt investigations after they denounced arbitrary detention and torture of opposition supporters and journalists. A November UN report documented hundreds of detentions before the January 15 vote. President Yoweri Museveni has ruled since 1986, removed age and term limits, and maintains tight institutional control.
Read at www.dw.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]