Uganda\u2019s director of government communications is threatening to block Jack Dorsey\u2019s peer-to-peer decentralised messaging service Bitchat ahead of the country\u2019s presidential elections next week.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Patro Uganda reports that Nyombi Thembo, the executive director of the Uganda Communications Commission, said<\/a> the government has the ability to block Bitchat thanks to its technical teams.\u00a0<\/p>\n Thembo said yesterday, \u201cWe have the highest concentration of software engineers and developers in this country. It is very easy for us to switch off such platforms if the need arises,\u201d according<\/a> to the NilePost.<\/p>\n He also warned that Bitchat shouldn\u2019t be considered as a means to avoid possible communication restrictions.\u00a0<\/p>\n In response to Thembo\u2019s comments, Dorsey simply said, \u201cInteresting,\u201d while one of Bitchat\u2019s pseudonymous open-source developers, \u201cCalle,\u201d was skeptical<\/a> that Uganda can block the service at all.\u00a0<\/p>\n you can’t stop bitchat. you can’t stop us. <\/p>\n I invite every ugandan developer to join the global open source movement and contribute. we don’t need anyone’s permission to write code.<\/p>\n free and open source. unstoppable. from the people for the people. https:\/\/t.co\/i7MzcEbsYS<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 calle (@callebtc) January 6, 2026<\/a> Read more: Nepal protests drive spike in Bitchat downloads<\/a><\/p>\n Surge of Ugandans installing Bitchat<\/p>\n Bitchat uses a Bluetooth mesh network that allows users to send and receive messages without the internet, mobile signal, or any account registration.<\/p>\n Its popularity soared<\/a> during protests in Nepal after a social media crackdown, and also proved popular during protests in Indonesia.<\/p>\n In 2021, an internet blackout was implemented<\/a> the day before Uganda\u2019s elections and lasted over four days.<\/p>\n Similar restrictions on social media and money transfers have taken place in the past and there are now fresh concerns about another crackdown after Elon Musk\u2019s satellite internet network paused<\/a> its services in Uganda following a government request.<\/p>\n This fear has led to an increase in Ugandans using Bitchat, with Calle noting<\/a> a surge of hundreds of thousands of installs across the last few days, equal to 1% of Uganda\u2019s population.<\/p>\n Uganda says there won\u2019t be an internet blackout<\/p>\n Ugandan authorities have denied<\/a> that they would implement such restrictions during the upcoming election, while Thembo added that reports of an internet blackout were \u201cmere rumours.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n He says<\/a> that Starlink was ordered to halt its services as it was operating in the country without a license.<\/p>\n The country\u2019s Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of ICT, Aminah Zawedde, claimed<\/a> that the government \u201chas not announced, directed, or implemented any decision to shut down the internet during the election period.\u201d<\/p>\n She described reports of an imminent internet blackout as \u201cfalse and misleading.\u201d<\/p>\n Read more: Bitcoin Core pulls v30 downloads over bug that can scrub Satoshi-era wallets<\/a><\/p>\n Uganda\u2019s current president, Yoweri Museveni, has been in power for 40 years, with the fiercest opposition<\/a> set to come from Robert Kyagulanyi, aka singer Bobi Wine.<\/p>\n During the 2021 internet crackdown, Wine alleged<\/a> that election fraud took place, and that this couldn\u2019t be communicated during the blackout.<\/p>\n This time around, Wine is encouraging<\/a> Ugandans to download Bitchat to avoid any potential internet blackout.\u00a0<\/p>\n In December, he claimed<\/a> that the \u201cregime is plotting an internet shutdown in the coming days\u201d and encouraged users to download the app while the internet is still up and running.<\/p>\n Got a tip? Send us an email securely via\u00a0Protos Leaks<\/a>. For more informed news, follow us on\u00a0X<\/a>,\u00a0Bluesky<\/a>, and\u00a0Google News<\/a>, or subscribe to our\u00a0YouTube<\/a>\u00a0channel.<\/p>\n \t\t\t
\nCalle\u2019s response to Thembo\u2019s comments on Monday.<\/p>\n