By Judith Nasenya
MBALE
Government has finally restored internet and social media fully.
Speaking this morning 10th February 2021, the Minister of State for Information, Communication Technology and National Guidance said internet and social media services have been fully restored.
Hon. Peter Ogwang also asked Ugandans to be responsible while using social media.
“Let’s be constructive, not destructive consumers/users of social media,” he said.
However many social media users took to their platforms lambasting the government for shutting down the internet. Others comp[alined that their businesses had already been affected by the shut down. Whereas others said it was going to be difficult for users to get back to paying OTT.
“I must say overtime people embraced VPN & it might be challenging for them to turn back! You may consider registering OTT as a failed project after teaching even the once very loyal tax payers that they can do without it,” wrote one user.
On the eve of the Presidential and Parliamentary elections of 14th January, 2021 government ordered for a complete shutdown of internet and Social Media.
President Museveni said he made the directive because Face book had selectively closed accounts of his NRM supporters,
A source in Uganda’s telecom sector said the government had made clear to executives at telecoms companies that the social media ban was in retaliation for Facebook blocking some pro-government accounts.
The U.S. social media giant had said the previous day that it had taken down a network in Uganda linked to the country’s ministry of information for using fake and duplicate accounts to post ahead of the Presidential election.
