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NAIROBI (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Uganda’s ban on social media days before presidential elections shows a rattled president flexing power over the Internet at the expense of free speech and citizen rights, digital campaigners said on Wednesday.
Tuesday’s ban by President Yoweri Museveni - who said he only acted because Facebook had removed accounts that backed his National Resistance Movement (NRM) party - came two days before elections that opponents hope will end his 35 years in power.
Campaigners said the mass switchoff - from Skype to Snapchat - robbed people of a voice in a blatant bid to cement the East African leader’s precarious hold on power.