Minister of State for Information, Communication Technology and National Guidance says social media is fully restored
By Angela Nyakuni
After waiting for many weeks while others struggled to use VPN; Social Media is fully restored? Minister of State for Information, Communication Technology and National Guidance, Peter Ogwang has said internet and social media services have been fully restored.
” Lets be constructive, not destructive consumers/users of social media,” Ogwang said.
Ugandans are celebrated the resumption of internet services after a shutdown was imposed ahead of a day’s election.
However, the social media platforms remained blocked and were only accessible using Virtual Private Networks (VPN).
President Yoweri Museveni had accused the platforms of being biased. Bobi Wine, a presidential candidate for the opposition National Unity Platform, alleged the poll was marred by fraud.
The party’s spokesperson Joel Ssenyonyi accused President Museveni of shutting down the internet to prevent them from sharing evidence of fraud.
He told the journalists that the party was in the process of collecting election results forms that have evidence of irregularities. Ssenyonyi told the press that NUP’s offices had been raided.
“They don’t want work to continue at our offices because they know that we are putting together evidence to show the world how much of a fraudster Museveni is,” he said.
President Museveni said on Saturday that the poll could be the “most cheating-free” in the history of the country.
The electoral commission declared President Museveni the winner with 59% of the vote, with his closest challenger Bobi Wine, a pop star whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi, garnering 34%.
Museveni has ruled Uganda since 1986. His party is also on course to secure an overwhelming majority in the 500-member parliament.
Bobi Wine has alleged that he was cheated out of victory, accusing President Museveni of fraud. But he has to prove these claims in court and time is running out.
According to Ugandan law, petitioners have 15 days, after the winner has been announced, to challenge the results at the Supreme Court.
Three days have passed since the declaration and Bobi Wine’s supporters worry that he will not get the chance to argue his case in court as soldiers continue to blockade his home. Senior police officers say the move was aimed at preventing the politician from inciting violence.