Uganda Restores Social Media
Internet access was switched off on Wednesday, January 13 to avoid misusing it to incite violence ahead of the parliamentary and presidential elections. Days later, the internet was restored but access to social media remained restricted.
Marvin Chege 
Uganda on Wednesday, February 10 restored access to social media by its citizens, weeks after the government suspended it one day to the general elections on Thursday, January 14.
Peter Ogwang, Uganda's Minister for Information, Communication, and Technology (ICT) tweeted that social media had been restored.
"Internet and social media services have been fully restored. We apologize for the inconveniences caused, but it was for the security of our country," Ogwang stated.
"Let's be constructive, not destructive consumers/users of social media," he added.
Internet access was switched off on Wednesday, January 13 to avoid misusing it to incite violence ahead of the parliamentary and presidential elections. Days later, the internet was restored but access to social media remained restricted.
President Yoweri Museveni won the elections with 58.64 percent of the votes while his closest rival Robert Kyagulanyi, alias Bobi Wine emerged second with 34.83 percent.
MTN, the largest telecommunications company in Uganda, had notified its subscribers that the National Telecommunication Operators in the country had received a directive from Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) to immediately suspend access and use, direct or otherwise, of all social media platforms and online messaging applications over the network until further notice.
“MTN Uganda has, in compliance with its National Telecommunications Operator License and in accordance with MTN’s group-wide Digital Human Rights due diligence framework implemented the directive,” part of its statement read then.
