KAMPALA, Uganda
The Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) has directed the suspension of public internet access and selected mobile services during the election period slated for Thursday, January 15.
In a directive issued by the regulator, UCC Executive Director Nyombi Thembo stated that the move is aimed at safeguarding national security and maintaining public order during the electoral process by mitigating the spread of misinformation. disinformation and electoral fraud.
The directive is set to commence on Tuesday, January 13, at 6:00 pm.
UCC instructed service providers to temporarily disable access to social media platforms, mobile data services and other selected internet-based communication channels for the duration of the voting exercise and the immediate post-election period.
The commission said the decision was taken in line with its mandate under the Uganda Communications Act, which empowers it to regulate communication services in the interest of national security and public safety.
Several entities were, however, excluded from the directive, citing that authorised personnel will be allowed to access the internet during the period through a secure, whitelisted mechanism such as private circuits, Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) and dedicated Internet Protocol (IP) ranges.
These include essential public services such as healthcare, financial services, administrative services, transportation and aviation control systems, SIM swaps and SIM upgrade systems, security and cybersecurity systems, network management and monitoring tools.
Internet providers were further directed to ensure full compliance with the order and warned that failure to implement the directive would attract regulatory sanctions as provided for under the law.
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