Government has finally restored internet and social media services a month after shut down. The restoration of the internet has been confirmed by the state minister for Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Peter Ogwang.
“Internet and Social media services have been fully restored. We apologize for the inconveniences caused, but it was for the security of our country. Let’s be constructive, NOT destructive consumers/users of social media,” the minister said.
On February 13, 2020, President Yoweri Museveni ordered for shut down of all social media platforms a few days after Google had erased facebook accounts and pages of his campaign propagandists and barely two days to the general elections.
Facebook’s head of communication for sub-Saharan Africa, Kezia Anim-Addo, said; “We removed a network of accounts and pages in Uganda that engaged in CIB (Coordinated Inauthentic Behaviour) to target public debate ahead of the election.”
After Museveni’s directives, the Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) petitioned Telecom Service providers ordering them to immediately suspend access and use, direct or otherwise of all social media platforms and online messaging applications over the network until further notice.
Since then, Ugandans have been accessing social media platforms through Virtual Private Networks (VPNs).
