According to a report via The Monitor, the Ugandan Government had shut down social media services, such as Facebook and WhatsApp, during the course of the February 2016 general elections in the country.
The report revealed that the shutdown was implemented in order to allegedly control the avalanche of negative messages, circulating the platforms, as voters headed to the polls. The report further revealed that mobile phone users subscribing to the MTN and Airtel networks were most affected.
In a report via the BBC, current President, Yoweri Museveni, stated that social media had been blocked in Uganda on the day of presidential elections to stop people “telling lies.” The report further revealed that many people had found a way around the controversial restrictions, including opposition candidate Amama Mbabazi, via Virtual Private Network services (VPN)
Over 15.2 million voters headed to the polls to elect a new president and legislators within the country.
Darryl Linington
Follow @DarrylLinington on Twitter
