Uganda orders internet shutdown ahead of elections

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Published Jan 13, 2026

Ugandan authorities cut internet access and limited mobile services across the country today, two days before an election in which President Yoweri Museveni will stand for a seventh term after four decades in power.

The Uganda Communications Commission ordered mobile service providers to shut down public internet connections in order to curb "misinformation, disinformation, electoral fraud and related risks".

Security forces have detained hundreds of opposition supporters in the run-up to the election and repeatedly fired live bullets and tear gas at campaign events in support of Museveni's leading challenger, pop star Bobi Wine.

The 81-year-old Museveni, who came to power in 1986 after leading a five-year rebellion, is Africa's third-longest ruling head of state.

He has changed the constitution twice to remove age and term limits, and his dominance of Ugandan institutions means there is little prospect of an election upset in the East African country of 46 million people, political analysts say.

Now to talk about the Ugandan elections we are joined by Doctor Delta Milayo Ndou who is a Political Campaigns Specialist at the Political Campaigns Resource Hub, a subsidiary of the International Centre for Political Campaigns.

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