Uganda shuts down internet ahead of election, orders rights groups to halt work

Uganda's President and the leader of ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) party, Yoweri Museveni, addresses delegates at a ceremony for his nomination as presidential candidate at the Electoral Commission offices, in Kampala, Uganda September 23, 2025. REUTERS/Abubaker Lubowa

KAMPALA, Jan 13 (Reuters) - Ugandan authorities cut internet ‌access and limited mobile services across the country on Tuesday, two days before an election in ‌which President Yoweri Museveni will stand for a contentious seventh term after four decades in power.

The ‌Uganda Communications Commission ordered mobile service providers to shut down public internet connections from 6 p.m. (1500 GMT) on Tuesday in order to curb “misinformation, disinformation, electoral fraud and related risks”, according to a letter seen by Reuters.