Today is Jan 15, election day in Uganda; and once again the internet is shut down. Only state TV is streaming. No social media, no independent reporting, just silence.
Uganda has had the same president since 1986. Yoweri Museveni took power through an armed rebellion promising democracy and an end to dictatorship. Nearly 40 years later, he’s still in office after removing term limits and tightening constitutional control.
And whenever real opposition emerges, the state machinery reacts. Look at what happened with Bobi Wine; a popular challenger who mobilized young people and presented a credible democratic threat. Instead of open competition, we saw intimidation, arrests, blocked campaigns, and heavy-handed tactics from security agencies. That’s not democracy, that’s fear of accountability.
So when election day comes and the internet mysteriously disappears, it’s not an accident; it’s authoritarian choreography: control communication, control the narrative, control the results.
What makes it worse is the continental silence. The African Union sees it. ECOWAS sees it. APC and Nigeria; the “giant of Africa”; see it. But they say nothing. Silence has become the standard African diplomatic response even while democracy is being suffocated in real time.
Then when the people finally push back, suddenly everyone becomes a peacekeeper; flying in envoys, calling for dialogue, chartering private jets. But during the actual democratic chokehold? Nothing.
At some point Africa needs institutions that defend citizens, not just presidents.
#UgandaDecides #UgandaElections #BobiWine #Democracy #Africa
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