As Uganda goes to the polls today, an Internet shutdown has been instituted. While such measures are often discussed through the lens of political rights, we must urgently shift the conversation to a more immediate and devastating reality: the catastrophic economic and security cost of digital darkness. In the modern Ugandan economy, the Internet is no longer a luxury; it is the central nervous system of our marketplace. According to Bank of Uganda data, active mobile money accounts have surged to over 33 million as of 2025. On any given day, billions of shillings move through digital rails to pay for hospital bills, school fees, and the daily stock for market vendors in Kikubo.
During the 2021 shutdown, estimates suggested the economy lost nearly $1.79 million (Shs6.6 billion) per day, by 2026, with our deepened reliance on digital financial services, that figure could easily double. A shutdown does not merely stop an X post; it freezes the lifeblood of the ‘Omuntu wa wansi.’ When the network goes dark, the mother in Gulu might not easily access emergency funds from Kampala; the boda boda rider could have trouble with his GPS-linked customers; and the SME owner cannot verify a supplier payment. Furthermore, from a security standpoint, a total shutdown is a tactical error.
It creates an information vacuum. In the absence of verified news, this vacuum is instantly filled by unverified rumours, panic, and ‘shadow’ misinformation that spreads offline or via restricted channels. This makes the country less safe, not more. It is in this darkness that deepfakes-AIgenerated videos of leaders-can do the most damage because there is no official digital medium left to debunk them in real-time. As the Cyber Security and Forensics Association of Uganda, we advocate for ‘Precision Security’ rather than ‘blunt force.’ Instead of cutting the cord, we should be strengthening the shield.
We propose the using of the already established team of a national cyber safety team where citizens can report digital threats, hacking, or inciting content without losing access to their livelihoods. In future, the powers that be should invite the Cyber Security and Forensics Association and other stakeholders for a joint technical briefing, and strategies on how we can secure our digital borders and protect the integrity of the vote without bankrupting our citizens. Let us choose cyber-stability over digital silence. Our economy, and our peace, depend on it.