A high-ranking Ugandan official defended the internet ban that was put in place before the polls today, claiming it was important to stop violence and false information.
Tomorrow, people in East Africa will vote in a widely expected election that would give President Yoweri Museveni his seventh term. This is because he has complete control over the state and security bodies, according to AFP.
The government cut off access to the internet yesterday, even though they had promised not to do so. This made people even more worried about more repression and manipulation on election day.
Hajat Hadijah Namyalo Uzeiye, an advisor to the president, defended the measure by saying, “The internet causes wars, riots, and false information.”
“They had to shut down the internet because of the false information from different groups,” she told our reporter.
The United Nations human rights office said the shutdown and the decision this week to ban 10 rights NGOs were “deeply worrying.”
Uzeiye told our reporter that they thought they would win the election by a “landmark” amount of “at least 70 percent.”
She said, “We aren’t ready for him to go.”
She denied claims made by opposition leader Bobi Wine, analysts, and rights groups that he is a military dictator who has violently suppressed the opposition over his four-decade rule.
“I won’t call it a dictatorship,” she remarked.
“They’re trying to show the world the dictatorship part without giving any details about the why, the who, the where, and the what.”
Uganda government presidential election internet blockade
About the Author
