Deutsche Welle (English edition)
Uganda election shines spotlight on internet freedom and democracy
The Committee to Protect Journalists has joined a growing list of organizations calling on Uganda's government to maintain internet connectivity. Rights activists are warning about state suppression and intimidation.
As Ugandans prepared to cast their ballots in what observers consider one of the most competitive elections in Uganda's political history, there was growing concern that President Yoweri Museveni has begun shutting down or limiting internet connection.
While working on this article, it was challenging to connect with DW correspondents in Uganda via WhatsApp or cellphone. The same applied to NGOs that advocate human rights and community development.
"The internet is very slow. The network is not good at all," Madina, a female resident in Kampala, told DW. "We can't download anything from Facebook. We can't download anything. So we are in that situation."
She said the slowdown would affect them a lot because "for us, we use our phones to see what is going on in Uganda or other countries."
Many Ugandans fear that the election will not be free and fair because the government deployed the army to quell what it says could be post-election violence. The internet slowdown may spell trouble for people like Madina.
"It had been good before, but it started like two days ago," she said.
"They don't want us to know or get what will take place on January 14. That is what they are avoiding, maybe."
'Why are they closing the internet?'
However, George Okawa, a Kampala resident, said he had not witnessed any change in accessing the internet.
"I have not confirmed it. They should not close the internet. Why are they closing the internet? On my side, this vote is going to be free and fair. They should leave the internet open," Okawa said.
Videos circulating on WhatsApp showed scores of armored vehicles with mounted guns patrolling the capital Kampala.
"It doesn't feel as though the country is going into an election. It feels as though the country is at war," Nicholas Opiyo, renowned Ugandan human rights lawyer, said.
"When you hear the rhetoric of security officials, we have never seen this before in previous elections. Civil society organizations being intimidated or suppressed. It feels really like a local war." Opiyo described the city as apprehensive, saying that people are scared. "Many people I know have sent their families out of the country or to the countryside."
CPJ joins others in calling for internet freedom
In a letter addressed to the Ugandan government, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) on Tuesday joined 54 other organizations calling on President Museveni to keep the internet on during and after the polls scheduled for Thursday, January 14.
The letter stresses that any disruption to the internet will hinder journalists from effectively reporting. At the same time, it infringes on citizens' rights to gain essential information at a critical moment.
The letter also expressed concern about a request from Museveni's government to Google asking the tech giant to shut down opposition figures' YouTube channels.
Opposition presidential candidate for the National Unity Platform (NUP), Robert Kyagulanyi, popularly known as Bobi Wine, warned on Twitter that the government had denied many international journalists accreditation to cover the election.
Controversial social media tax
President Yoweri Museveni in 2018 complained that young people spent too much of their time on WhatsApp and other online applications and were responsible for spreading false information.
Later that same year, in July, Uganda's government introduced the "over-the-top" (OTT) tax — commonly known as the social media tax — for online services such as WhatsApp, Facebook, and Twitter. Since then, social media users in Uganda have to pay an additional UShs200 ($0.05, €0.04) to access social media platforms.
The OTT tax led to the massive adoption of Virtual Private Network (VPNs) to evade payment. For many young Ugandans critical of the government, boycotting the tax became a silent rebellion against the ruling NRM party.
"Since yesterday [January 11, 2021], we have been having a problem with the internet, especially those people who are using OTT. They have found it so challenging, but with people who had already downloaded VPN, they are okay," Gerald Sengelo, a Kampala resident, told DW.
"So since yesterday, you couldn't access any video on Facebook or even on Twitter. The videos couldn't play just because of OTT," Sengelo said, adding that it will affect the entire country simply because very many people are not used to the VPN system.
The 'Facebook controversy'
On Monday, Facebook took down several accounts linked to President Museveni's administration.The social media giant alleged that some of the profiles were fake and manipulated public opinion to favor the government while attacking the opposition.
The government rejected the accusations and blamed Facebook for "meddling in the country's election." It has since demanded that those deleted accounts be reinstated.
Rights activist Nicholas Opiyo said he was not surprised by Facebook's move. "We saw it a long time coming because the Ministry of Information had created a group of people to abuse others online," Opiyo told DW in an interview.
"They [Ugandan government: Editor's note] created a system that would manipulate public conscience and public debate. And gladly, Facebook was able to identify and block these accounts."
According to the award-winning lawyer, Facebook should have blocked those accounts a long time ago because they distorted the quality of the political debate.
"They create an artificial debate online to try and paint a picture that is not the truth. So I'm really happy that Facebook took that step," Opiyo added.
Paying the ultimate price
Opiyo spent time in jail after facing charges of money laundering and is now out on bail.
He described the allegations as a continuation of a pattern targeting civil society leaders and actors. "It left me more emboldened to continue doing what we were doing," Opiyo said.
"It might be difficult to do it, but we'll try as much as we can, using all means and resources to continue doing what we do to defend human rights because our work is most needed in times such as this."
The Ugandan government has cracked down on opposition politicians and activists, as well as journalists. It accuses the opposition of flouting COVID-19 prevention rules.
"When the authorities seek to abuse rights. When they seek to silence people, then we should seek them more. So we will continue doing what we do. And I'm happy to pay the ultimate price."