By 
A week ago, reliable sources close to Gadgets Africa confirmed that Uganda residents were not able to access the internet. It all started when Facebook suspended accounts of some Uganda leaders in a bid to curb misinformation.
Soon after, the internet was shut down. The country’s Communications Commission ordered a service blackout until further notice. According to certain users, it was even impossible to navigate through any site even when using a VPN (Virtual Private Network).
Now that the elections are over, the Internet is back on in Uganda five days after the government it all went down.
Start off your week with tech news recap and trending conversations in your inbox
The Internet is Back Up In Uganda
The shutdown had elicited widespread criticism and condemnation against the government and the pressure still looms. Here’s a tweet from NetBlocks, an internet monitoring group, depicting the partial restoration of internet connectivity.
Confirmed: Partial restoration of internet connectivity registered on day 5 of #Uganda election blackout; real-time network data show rise in connectivity to 37% ? #UgandaDecides2021
We call on authorities to restore full access ?
?https://t.co/0qQtBcr4Fc pic.twitter.com/T034LbmuIy
— NetBlocks (@netblocks) January 18, 2021
NetBlocks also goes on to note that:
The findings above reveal the extent of restrictions issued by order of the Uganda Communications Commission. This is before, during, and after presidential and parliamentary elections on the 14th.
According to other sources, social media access, however, is reportedly still down. But some users in the neighbouring country are able to bypass the block to access sites such as Facebook and Twitter via VPN. As of now we can only wait and hope that all will be well in Uganda.
Comments