Uganda Internet Shutdown: Social Media Remains Restricted

According to the ministry of internal Affairs, access to social media in Uganda will remain restricted until further notice.

The announcement was made by Internal Affairs minister Gen. Jeje Odongo insisting that the restrictions will only be lifted when government confirms that it is no longer a threat to national security.

Uganda is only recovering from a rigorous election calendar that saw a total internet blackout on the eve of the general, a shutdown that would go on for 5 days. As connectivity was restored, the government says Ugandans will have to wait a little longer for social media access to be unrestricted. Social media can only be accessed via Virtual Private Networks (VPN).

This shutdown affected the economy's major sectors, especially the business sector, where most transactions are done online; this has been looked at as inconsiderate since modern transactions are done through e_commerce.

Uganda lost about UGX 66.6b from fintech daily transactions alone during the internet shutdown that lasted 5 days. Whereas internet connectivity was restored on Monday, reception is poor, and everything is slow.

"We’ll be able to say it is time now, we have assessed, it is no longer a threat, we can have it back so that you continue to enjoy your peace and security as an element, not overall security situation," said Odongo.