Facebook shuts down Ugandan accounts ahead of general elections
- by Joann Nelson
- in Sci-tech
- — Jan 16, 2021
Bobi Wine, who past year this time was making plans to be in Jamaica for reggae festival, Rebel Salute, despite several arrests by the police, is today waiting to hear if he will be declared victor of the elections and be named the next president of Uganda, ousting Yoweri Museveni, one of Africa's longest-serving leaders.
Military police said they had deployed officers to rooftops of buildings across Kampala, and the normally bustling streets were quiet.
At a news conference on Tuesday, Mr Wine and two other opposition candidates - Patrick Amuriat and Mugisha Muntu - urged Ugandans to turn out and "protect their vote" by staying at polling stations to observe counting.
But Museveni, one of Africa's longest serving leaders, has never lost an election and observers expect this time around will be no different.
Voting was delayed in several locations in Kampala and queues snaked for hours, with Wine complaining of problems with the biometric machines used to confirm voter identities.
The campaign period has been characterized by killings, beatings and violent dispersal of opposition supporters using teargas and rubber bullets, following the frequent arrests of leading opposition candidate, Bobi Wine.
The race to the Uganda 2021 presidential election has been laced with intimidation, arrests, torture and unlawful detention of opposition members and supporters of Mr Kyagulanyi, a reggae artiste and member of the country's parliament.
Wine also said in a tweet on Friday that he was unable to make or receive calls on his phone, saying this was part of an effort to prevent him from communicating.
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Many analysts say Museveni represents all that's old in Uganda, a country he had dominated since sweeping to power on the back of a "bush war" which toppled independence leader Milton Obote.
By Friday evening, EC accounted for 5,125,703 votes (28.31%) of the 18,103,603 registered voters in an election that was projected to have an increase in voter turner up.
The government's decision this week to shut down access to social media in retaliation over Facebook's removal of Museveni-linked Ugandan accounts accused of inauthentic behavior was meant "to limit the eyes on the election and, therefore, hide something", said Crispin Kaheru, an independent election observer.
Museveni has ruled Uganda without pause since seizing control in 1986, when he helped to end years of tyranny under Idi Amin.
The battle between Wine and Museveni spans years, with Wine taking his MP seat in 2017 and remaining the most visible and high-profile challenger throughout Museveni's successful bid for constitutional changes that allowed the 76-year-old to run for office again.
The tech giants have continued to block the accounts of some of the supporters of the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) party despite a protest from the government, Museveni said in a televised address.
On Wednesday, the United States, a major aid donor to Uganda, announced it was cancelling a diplomatic observer mission after too many of its staff were denied permission to monitor the election.
"You won't take away President Kaguta Museveni", he added, using the president's second name. "The security forces, following the law, are ready to deal with any troublemaker", Museveni warned this week.
