Ugandans vote amid internet shutdown and heavy police presence as President Museveni seeks to extend his 40-year rule against opposition claims of planned rigging
KAMPALA: Ugandans went to the polls on Thursday under an internet blackout and heavy security presence, with President Yoweri Museveni expected to extend his 40-year rule.
The government shut down the internet indefinitely on Tuesday to prevent what it called “misinformation” and “incitement to violence”. Opposition leader Bobi Wine described the election as a “war” and Museveni as a “military dictator”.
“We are very aware that they are planning to rig the election, to brutalise people, to kill people, and they don’t want the rest of the world to see,” Wine told AFP.
Hundreds of his supporters have been arrested in the run-up to the vote, mirroring the crackdown during the 2021 campaign. Wine has taken to wearing a flak jacket at rallies for protection.
Polling stations opened slowly, as is normal in Uganda, with voting underway shortly after 7am in at least one Kampala suburb. Heavy police and army patrols were reported in towns like Jinja.
The police warned that the vote was “not a justification for criminal acts” and deployed newly hired “special constables” to enforce order. Many in the capital were nervous as security forces beefed up their presence.
Museveni, an 81-year-old former bush fighter, struck a forceful tone at his final rally. “Go and vote. Anybody who wants to interfere with your freedom, I will crush them,” he said.
His tenure has been marked by accusations of rampant security force abuses against opponents. Another major opposition figure, Kizza Besigye, was abducted in Kenya in 2024 and faces an ongoing treason trial in Uganda.
Human Rights Watch has denounced the suspension of 10 NGOs, including election-monitoring organisations, and said the opposition had faced “brutal repression”. Journalists have also been harassed and blocked from covering events.
Despite this, many Ugandans still praise Museveni for ending the country’s post-independence chaos and overseeing rapid economic growth. “Forty years doesn’t even matter, we need even more,” said supporter Banura Oliver, 41.
The United Nations called the internet shutdown “deeply worrying”. Wine has vowed protests if the vote is rigged.
