Internet Restored in Uganda as Military Raids Opposition Party Offices

The internet shutdown in Uganda that had entered its fifth day on Monday has ended, with reports suggesting social media is still blocked and only be accessed through VPN.

The Internet was shut down on Wednesday night, a few hours to go before polling stations opened for Thursday’s general elections.

This was shortly after Facebook apparently suspended hundreds of pro-government Ugandan accounts.

President Yoweri Museveni while commenting about Facebook’s decision said there was no way anyone would come to Uganda and decide what was good or bad.

Prime Minister Ruhakana Rugunda, however, told NBS television that government was still assessing the level of threat before a decision can be taken to restore internet services.

Meanwhile, offices, where agents were gathering material for an election petition, were raided by military officers, the spokesman for Uganda’s biggest opposition party, National Unity Platform (NUP) has said.

Joel Ssenyonyi told the BBC that the party was in the process of collecting election results forms that show evidence of irregularities in last week’s election.

“Each presidential candidate is provided with the DR [declaration results] form, why doesn’t he want to present the DR forms that were given to us by his electoral commission?”, Ssenyonyi questioned.

The opposition said they had photos and video evidence too.

“Mr Museveni knows we have those things that is why he is shutting down the internet; he doesn’t want us to put those things out there for the whole of Uganda and the international community to realise how much of a fraudster he is,” he said.

President Museveni said the poll could be the “most cheating-free” in the history of the African nation.

The EU, the United Nations and several rights groups have raised concerns. Aside from an African Union mission, no major international group monitored the vote.

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