31.01.2026

Uganda Votes In Fear Amid Internet Blackout And Police Crackdown

Uganda was on edge as polls opened, with President Yoweri Museveni expected to extend his 40-year rule amid an internet shutdown and a police crackdown on the opposition. It is a familiar feeling for Ugandans after four decades of rule by Museveni, 81, a former bush fighter steeped in the ideology of revolutionary violence, whose tenure has been marked by accusations of rampant security-force abuses against his opponents. He has faced a concerted challenge from singer-turned-politician Bobi Wine, 43, who styles himself the "ghetto president," after his stronghold in a slum where he grew up in the capital, Kampala. Despite repeated promises that it would not do so, the government shut down the internet on Tuesday for an indefinite period to prevent the spread of "misinformation" and "incitement to violence." The United Nations called the shutdown "deeply worrying." Wine has vowed protests if the vote is rigged. The other major opposition figure, Kizza Besigye, who ran four times against Museveni, was abducted in Kenya in 2024 and brought back to a military court in Uganda for a treason trial that is ongoing. His wife, UNAIDS Executive Director Winnie Byanyima, said Uganda has only a "thin veneer" of democracy, with a "total capture of state institutions" by the president. Many in Kampala were nervous as security forces beefed up their presence for election day. Journalists were harassed and blocked from attending Museveni's rally. Reporters Without Borders said local journalist Ssematimba Bwegiire lost consciousness after being electrocuted and pepper-sprayed by a security officer at a Wine rally. Human Rights Watch has denounced the suspension of 10 nongovernmental organizations, including those that monitor elections, and said the opposition had faced "brutal repression."
Credit: DW