Digital Controls As Election Tool

Uganda’s decision to shut down internet access and restrict mobile services days before national election, hailed by rights groups as a deliberate strategy to manage political risk through digital control, went to effect on Tuesday, Jan. 13, when authorities ordered public internet connections cut nationwide from 6 p.m. local time, just 48 hours before voters head to the polls. The move comes as Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, 81, seeks a seventh term after nearly four decades in power.

The Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) directed licensed mobile operators and internet service providers to comply with the shutdown, citing the need to curb “misinformation, disinformation, electoral fraud and related risks.” The letter acknowledged the “operational challenges” posed by the order but framed compliance as essential to “upholding national stability.” A Reuters witness confirmed that internet services went offline at the designated 6 p.m. cutoff, signaling coordinated execution rather than a partial or symbolic measure.

“Upholding National Stability”

The communications blackout follows weeks of intensifying security pressure on opposition activity. Security forces have detained hundreds of opposition supporters and repeatedly used live ammunition and tear gas against campaign events backing Museveni’s main challenger, opposition figure and pop star Bobi Wine.

The U.N. Human Rights Office said on Friday that police and military units had fired live rounds at peaceful rallies, carried out arbitrary detentions, and abducted opposition supporters ahead of the vote.

Museveni, who took power in 1986 after a five-year rebellion, has amended the constitution twice to remove both age and term limits. Analysts note that his dominance over Uganda’s political institutions leaves little prospect of an electoral upset in the country of roughly 46 million people, even as turnout and legitimacy remain sensitive issues for the ruling establishment.

Shrinking Space For Civil Society

Alongside the digital shutdown, Ugandan authorities ordered two local rights organizations to halt operations immediately. The National Bureau for NGOs accused Chapter Four Uganda of activities “prejudicial” to national security, while issuing an identical order to the Human Rights Network for Journalists–Uganda (HRNJ-U). Both groups had publicly criticized alleged arbitrary detentions and torture of opposition supporters and journalists during the campaign period.

Robert Ssempala, head of HRNJ-U, confirmed receiving the shutdown letter, while Stephen Okello, who leads the state NGO bureau, told Reuters he authored the directives. The timing, days before the election, removes independent monitoring voices at a moment of heightened security activity and information restrictions, further narrowing the space for scrutiny.

The government has defended the actions of security forces as necessary responses to what it describes as lawless conduct by opposition supporters.