FACT-CHECK: Uganda’s internet was not cut due to disturbance from a moving ship

A statement made by a Ugandan minister, Balaam Baruhagara — the Minister of State for Youth and Children Affairs — that Uganda’s internet is off due to disturbances by a moving ship is false.

UBC TV, the national broadcaster, posted a video of the minister on their X handle (archived); the video attracted over 65,000+ views in less than a day, 250 likes, and 230 reposts. Nairobi Leo, an online news publisher from Nairobi, posted the same image (archived) with the caption used by the minister. Another source that posted the story is here (archived).

According to the minister, initially the public was told that the internet was switched off by the official regulator, the Uganda Communication Commission (UCC); however, later on they got information from Mombasa that the internet cable was broken into two by a moving ship. He tells the listeners that the person who brought the internet to Uganda is working hard to bring it back.

Debunking the Claim:

A Google keyword search for ‘Did a moving ship break down Uganda’s internet cable? Didn’t return any positive results .

Besides, there is no public information from any sources reporting about the same either from reputable news outlets or the UCC itself.

However, the only legitimate document The ClarityDesk was able to get from the UCC official X (formerly Twitter) (archived) handle is a post they made on the 14th of January, 2026, with an attached document announcing the temporary shutdown of the internet.

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Netblocks, a worldwide internet mapping site, shows that on the 14th of Jan 2026, Uganda’s internet dropped from 100% to 20%.

Elections and internet shutdowns in Africa:

Of late, internet shutdowns (1), (2), (3) are increasingly becoming rampant during elections, something pro-democracy and human rights groups condemn as a means by sitting governments to hide atrocities and irregularities during elections. During the 2021 general elections, Uganda shut down the internet and closed social media to date, claiming it is aiding in spreading false news. Tanzania is another recent example, which shut down the internet (archived) a few days before elections and opened it a few days after they were done.

Our Verdict:

The ClarityDesk has found the claim that the internet shutdown in Uganda is due to a cable breakdown by a ship to be false. The available official information shows that the internet was shut down by the Uganda Communication Commission due to security reasons during the election periods.

This article is published by The ClarityDesk, with the support of the Election Civic Tech Fund of AfricTivistes, within the AHEAD Africa and Digitalise Youth projects, led by the Digital Democracy Initiative.

Have you spotted an error in this article and would like to request a correction, or have you come across a claim that we should investigate? Please send us an email via editor@claritydesk.org or click here to WhatsApp us via +211 928 606 958.