Uganda on Monday switched on the internet after shutting it down on January 13, fearing that it would be used to spread messages of hate and violence ahead of the country’s general elections held on January 14.
Ofwono Opondo, government spokesman said that the internet is only switched on after data collected indicate that there will be no violence.
“Internet was switched off because people wanted to spread messages of hate and violence, as well as discredit the integrity of our elections,” Opondo said.
“We think now people have come to terms with the results. However, we remain on alert,” he added.
On January 13, a day before the country had its presidential and parliamentary elections, the internet was switched off.
“Whatever was done was done for the good of the country. The opposition was affected and the ruling party was also affected. Even the general public was affected,” Opondo said.
Although Ugandans are celebrating the resumption of internet services after a shutdown was imposed ahead of last week’s election, social media platforms remain blocked and are only accessible using Virtual Private Networks (VPN).
President Yoweri Museveni, who won an unprecedented sixth term in office, accused the platforms of being biased.
In the Thursday election, Museveni won with 58.64 per cent of the tallied votes while his closest rival Robert Kyagulanyi scored a mere 34.83 per cent.
The presidential race was contested by 11 candidates, only one of them was female.