Vongai Masuka

Ugandan authorities have partially restored internet services after 81-year-old President Yoweri Museveni secured a seventh term, extending his 40-year rule in a landslide victory that the opposition has dismissed as a sham.

Users in the capital reported a return of connectivity late Saturday, though social media platforms remain blocked by order of the state regulator.

The restoration comes as the country struggles with the fallout of a tense election cycle marked by an internet blackout, the alleged abduction of opposition figures, and military deployments.

The Electoral Commission declared Museveni the winner over the weekend, with 71.65% of the vote. His primary challenger, pop star-turned-politician Bobi Wine, was credited with 24.72%.

Wine, whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, has rejected the results, alleging massive ballot stuffing and the kidnapping of his polling agents.

The 43-year-old challenger’s whereabouts remain a subject of confusion while his party claimed he was forcibly removed by an army helicopter on Friday, Wine later posted on X that he had managed to escape a military raid and was in hiding.

The Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) justified the total internet shutdown, which began two days before the Jan. 15 poll, as a necessary measure to curb misinformation and incitement to violence.

“We have restored internet so that businesses that rely on it can resume work,” said David Birungi, spokesperson for Airtel Uganda.

However, he confirmed that social media remains restricted.

In a victory speech on yesterday, Museveni struck a defiant tone, labeling opposition members “terrorists” and “traitors” backed by foreign interests.

Museveni’s latest victory ensures he will remain in power until at least 2031.
The government maintains that those detained during the election period violated the law and will face due process, denying allegations of torture and illegal detentions leveled by the opposition.