Uganda’s Internet Blackout: Conflicting Claims Between Election Security and “Ship Accident” Fuel Public Skepticism
KAMPALA, UGANDA – Uganda remains gripped by a nationwide internet outage that entered its second day on January 18, 2026, with citizens facing two contradictory official explanations for the disruption: a government-ordered shutdown for election security, and a new claim that a ship in Mombasa severed a critical cable.
The blackout began on January 13th at 6 p.m., shortly after the Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) issued a statement confirming it had temporarily switched off public internet traffic. The regulator cited a “legitimate purpose of ensuring public safety and public order ahead of the general elections” as the reason for the action.
However, a new narrative emerged on Saturday from Hon. Balaam Barugahara, the Minister of State for Youth and Children Affairs. While speaking on the national broadcaster UBC TV, Minister Balaam asserted that the ongoing outage was caused by a maritime accident.
“Initially, UCC said they had switched off for security reasons, but the latest news I am getting from my friends in Mombasa, a ship was passing by, and it cut an internet cable into two,” the Minister stated. “They are trying to locate the other piece to connect it.”
He assured viewers that “technicians are working around the clock” to locate and repair the severed cable and that “the internet will be reinstated very soon.”
The Minister’s explanation has been met with widespread skepticism and derision online, where possible, and among netizens who managed to circumvent the blackout. Many Ugandans point out the highly coincidental timing of the alleged cable damage, which supposedly occurred at the exact moment the UCC had pre-announced the shutdown.
“This is a statement of mockery,” said one social media commentator, echoing a common sentiment. The conflicting stories have fueled accusations that the government is attempting to mask a politically motivated internet blackout—a common tactic during tense electoral periods in the region—with a convenient technical excuse.
The situation highlights the fragile nature of East Africa’s internet connectivity, which relies heavily on submarine cables landing in Mombasa, Kenya. Damage to these cables can indeed cause significant regional disruptions. However, such incidents typically affect multiple countries simultaneously and are usually reported swiftly by major cable consortia and network monitoring groups.
As of now, no independent international cable fault report has corroborated the Minister’s claim of a ship-induced cable cut in Mombasa on January 13th. Meanwhile, the UCC has not issued a new statement to retract or reconcile its original shutdown order with the Minister’s maritime mishap theory.
With the public caught between the two stories, the ongoing blackout continues to disrupt business, communication, and daily life across Uganda, underscoring a deepening crisis of information and trust amidst the electoral process.
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