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Uganda

Africa & World

Uganda to shut down internet ahead of Thursday election

by Folarin Kehinde
written by Folarin Kehinde

Uganda ordered an internet blackout on Tuesday, two days ahead of elections in which President Yoweri Museveni is seeking to extend his 40-year rule.

“This measure is necessary to mitigate the rapid spread of online misinformation, disinformation, electoral fraud and related risks, as well as preventing of incitement to violence that could affect public confidence and national security during the election period,” the Uganda Communications Commission said in a letter to internet providers, verified by government officials to AFP.

There was no statement from the government on the shutdown. The officials said the authorities did not want to “own” the decision.

Uganda shut down the internet during the last election in 2021 — a vote that was marred by widespread allegations of rigging and state violence against the opposition, led by singer-turned-politician Bobi Wine, who is running again for the presidency.

The government repeatedly promised that the internet would not be shut down during the election, stating in a post on X on January 5 that “claims suggesting otherwise are false, misleading, and intended to cause unnecessary fear and tension among the public.”

The suspension was due to take effect at 6:00 pm local time (1600 GMT) and remain in force “until a restoration notice is issued”, the UCC said.

Essential state services were to be exempted from the ban, it added.

AFP

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Sports

JUST IN: Ugandan Olympian set on fire by boyfriend is dead

by Folarin Kehinde
written by Folarin Kehinde

Ugandan Olympian Rebecca Cheptegei has died in Kenya four days after being set on fire by her boyfriend, Ugandan athletics officials said Thursday.

“We have learnt of the sad passing on of our Olympic athlete Rebecca Cheptegei… following a vicious attack by her boyfriend,” the president of the Uganda Olympic Committee Donald Rukare said in a post on X.

“This was a cowardly and senseless act that has led to the loss of a great athlete. Her legacy will continue to endure,” he added.

According to police, a man identified as Cheptegei’s partner, Dickson Ndiema Marangach, allegedly doused her with petrol and set her alight on Sunday at her home in Endebess in the western county of Trans-Nzoia.

The incident took place just weeks after Cheptegei, 33, had taken part in the marathon at the Paris Olympics, where she placed 44th.

Cheptegei suffered burns to 80 per cent of her body and had been fighting for her life at a Kenyan hospital since the acting head of the facility told reporters on Tuesday.

“All her organs failed last night,” a medic at the facility, the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH), told AFP on Thursday.

Kenyan media had reported that one of Cheptegei’s daughters witnessed the assault at her mother’s home.

“He kicked me while I tried to run to the rescue of my mother,” Kenya’s The Standard reported her as saying.

“I immediately cried out for help, attracting a neighbour who tried to extinguish the flames with water, but it was not possible,” said the girl, who has not been named.

Marangach was also wounded in the incident, sustaining 30 per cent burns on his body.

– ‘We call for justice’ –

The Uganda Athletics Federation also reported Cheptegei’s death in a statement on X.

“We are deeply saddened to announce the passing of our athlete, Rebecca Cheptegei early this morning who tragically fell victim to domestic violence,” it said.

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Africa & World

Uganda bans second-hand clothes, says they are for dead people

by Folarin Kehinde
written by Folarin Kehinde

Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni has banned the importation of used clothing into the east African country, saying it stifles the development of local textile industries and that the clothes belonged to dead Westerners.

Like most African countries, Uganda has traditionally imported large quantities of used clothing, which some consumers prefer because it is low-cost.

But local manufacturers complain the dumping of second-hand apparel swamps the market, undermining Uganda’s ability to climb the value chain of the cotton and textile industry.

“They are for dead people. When a White person dies, they gather their clothes and send them to Africa,” Museveni said on Friday.

At least 70% of garments donated to charity in Europe and the United States end up in Africa, according to Oxfam, a British charity. Reuters was not able to immediately ascertain what percentage of the donated clothing came from people who had died.

“We have people here who produce new clothes but they cannot infiltrate the market,” Museveni said at a groundbreaking ceremony of nine factories in the Sino-Uganda Mbale Industrial Park in Mbale city.

Uganda is a significant producer of cotton but much of it is exported in semi-processed form, with the value of its cotton exports ranging between $26-76 million per year in the decade to 2022, according to Uganda’s central bank.

The East African Community, a regional economic grouping of which Uganda is a member, agreed in 2016 to a complete ban on used clothing imports by 2019, but Rwanda was the only country to enact it.

As a result, the United States in 2018 suspended Rwanda’s right to export clothing duty-free to the United States, one of the benefits of the United States’ tariff and quota-free African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA).

The U.S. embassy in Kampala did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.

Museveni said the ban would also extend to electricity meters and electric cables, saying they should be bought from factories in Uganda.

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