"We see a pattern of decrease in global internet freedom as more governments decide to throttle online dissent. Many of these shutdowns, especially in Africa have occurred during elections and other moments of political tension, at a time when access to information is critical for the public to make informed decisions."
The media plays an indispensable role in the proper functioning of a democracy, and this role is increasingly facilitated by the internet. Media enables full public participation in elections by educating voters on how to exercise their democratic rights, reporting results and monitoring vote counting, scrutinizing the electoral process including, electoral management, in order to evaluate the fairness of the process, its efficiency and its integrity (aceproject.org, 2011). But this has not hindered the Ugandan Government from shutting down the internet.
The study sought to explore the impact of the recent internet shutdown to the journalists during the election period.
Download and read the full report here.
The report was published by Unwanted Witness, with financial support from Future Challenges and betterplace lab