Internet ‘blackout’ on eve of tense election

KAMPALA, UGANDA » Ugandan authorities appeared to cut off internet access in the country Wednesday night on the eve of a tense presidential election, while a lawyer for leading opposition candidate Bobi Wine said all contact had been lost with him.

“Confirmed: Uganda is now in the midst of a nation-scale internet blackout,” watchdog NetBlocks said in a statement saying connectivity levels had dropped to 33% of usual levels.

The U.S.-based counsel for Wine, Bruce Afran, told reporters that the candidate “is now in his compound with his wife and a single staff member who is unarmed and is not security personnel ... Security and police are stationed outside his home and effectively encircled it.”