Uganda blocks social media as Museveni is sworn in
KAMPALA: Ugandan authorities blocked social media sites including Twitter, Facebook and WhatsApp yesterday as President Yoweri Museveni was sworn in after a disputed re-election that led to a crackdown on dissent.
Museveni, 71, who took the oath of office at an event in Kampala, officially won 60 percent of the vote in the February ballot, extending his 30-year rule by five years.
The opposition said the vote was rigged and protests broke out, leading to clashes with police and dozens of arrests.
Ugandan officials said it was free and fair, and dismissed accusations that they had clamped down on free speech.
On Wednesday, police arrested opposition leader Kizza Besigye, who heads the Forum for Democratic Change party, which won 35percent of the vote. He has been under house arrest off and on since then.
Godfrey Mutabazi, the executive director of Uganda’s telecommunications regulator, said security agencies had asked access to social media websites to be blocked “to limit the possibility of terrorists taking advantage” of visits by dignitaries.
Uganda is hosting several heads of state for the ceremony.
Residents said the sites had been inaccessible since late Wednesday.
The authorities also blocked social media during voting and shortly afterwards, a move criticised at the time by the US and rights groups, who said it undermined the integrity of the process. EU monitors said the poll was held in an intimidating atmosphere and the electoral body lacked independence. – Reuters