100 hours in the dark: How an election Internet blackout hit poor Ugandans

An election official holds up a ballot after polling stations closed during the presidential elections in Kampala, Uganda. Digital rights campaigners said the Internet blackout was a deliberate attempt by government to keep citizens and the rest of the world in the dark during election periods – such as state crackdowns on political figures, media, and civil society. — Reuters

NAIROBI/KAMPALA: When Uganda ordered an Internet shutdown on the eve of the presidential election, groundnut seller Susan Tafumba’s trade collapsed.

The 34-year-old sells groundnuts at Kampala’s Nakawa market, but much of her business now comes through a mobile phone app that customers use to order goods to be delivered to them by motorcycle taxis.