Uganda partially restored internet access late on Saturday after President Yoweri Museveni secured a seventh term in office, extending his rule to nearly five decades in a vote rejected by the opposition.
Users reported regaining internet access around 11 p.m. local time, though social media platforms remained blocked. Several internet service providers said they had been instructed by the regulator to restore services for businesses while keeping social media offline.
“We have restored internet so that businesses that rely on it can resume work,” Airtel Uganda spokesperson David Birungi told Reuters, adding that the Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) had ordered social media to remain shut.
The UCC said earlier that the nationwide shutdown, imposed days before Thursday’s election, was aimed at curbing “misinformation, disinformation, electoral fraud and related risks.” Opposition figures criticised the move, saying it was designed to entrench government control over the vote and secure victory for the incumbent.
UCC spokesperson Ibrahim Bbosa did not respond to a Reuters request for comment.
Uganda’s electoral commission on Saturday declared Museveni, 81, the winner with 71.6% of the vote. His main challenger, opposition leader and former pop star Bobi Wine, received 24%, according to official results.
An election observer mission from the African Union and regional bodies criticised both the internet shutdown and the role of the military in the electoral process.
“The internet shutdown implemented two days before the elections limited access to information, freedom of association and economic activities, and created suspicion and mistrust in the electoral process,” the observers said in a report published on Saturday.
Museveni, in power since 1986 and currently Africa’s third longest-ruling leader, will remain president until at least 2031. He is widely seen as preparing his son, army chief Muhoozi Kainerugaba, as a possible successor. Kainerugaba has publicly expressed presidential ambitions.
Wine rejected the election outcome, alleging widespread fraud. Scattered protests broke out late on Saturday following the announcement of results, according to a Reuters witness and police.
In Magere, a northern suburb of Kampala where Wine lives, youths burned tyres and erected road barricades before police dispersed them using tear gas.
Police spokesperson Racheal Kawala said the protests had been contained and that arrests were made, though she did not provide figures.
Wine’s whereabouts were unclear early on Sunday after he said on X that he had evaded a military raid on his home. People close to him told Reuters he was at an undisclosed location inside Uganda. He was briefly placed under house arrest after the 2021 election.
Wine has said hundreds of his supporters were detained in the months leading up to the vote and that some were tortured. The government denies the allegations, saying all detainees violated the law and will be treated according to due process.