Uganda holds election day amid internet blackout

By Emmanuel Akinwotu

Published January 15, 2026 at 5:01 PM EST

Uganda votes amid an internet blackout and heavy military deployment as President Yoweri Museveni seeks a seventh term, extending his four-decade grip on power

Emmanuel Akinwotu

Emmanuel Akinwotu is an international correspondent for NPR. He joined NPR in 2022 from The Guardian, where he was West Africa correspondent.

Support nonprofit, fact-based public service journalism

WEKU depends on support from those who view and listen to our content. There's no paywall here. Please support WEKU with your donation.

Contribute now

Related Content

Palestinians react to U.S. announcing the start of second phase of ceasefire in Gaza

Aya Batrawy, Anas Baba

Palestinians say they're suffering as they wait for progress in next phase of U.S.-backed ceasefire.
Whiplash as addiction and mental health treatment gets cut and restored

Debbie Elliott

Less than a day after the Trump administration slashed funding for addiction and mental health programs nationwide, the money was restored. Here's how this whiplash played out in Alabama.
This teenager who wrote a research paper on how AI could impact teen jobs

Wailin Wong, Stephan Bisaha

A 17-year-old in California who got curious about the impact of AI on typical teen jobs. She embarked on an ambitious economic research project and shared her findings with us.
Trump's threat to sanctuary cities highlights struggle over federal and local powers

Joel Rose

As unrest continues in Minnesota, President Trump is threatening to cut money for sanctuary cities. That's a broad term that covers a battle between cities, states and the federal government.
Slotkin describes contact from federal prosecutor after video regarding illegal orders

Alejandra Marquez Janse, Juana Summers, Patrick Jarenwattananon

The Justice Department is investigating Congress members after they were in a video telling members of the military they can reject illegal orders. Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., is one of them.