President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has once again stirred conversation, boldly claiming he “taught Facebook a lesson” after the social media giant assumed Uganda couldn’t thrive without its platform.
The remarks came on Sunday during a youth meeting at his Rwakitura farm under the ongoing Unstoppable Campaign, where he responded to questions about the continued restriction on Facebook access.
One of the youths asked why Facebook was still inaccessible without a VPN, highlighting how crucial digital platforms have become for business and marketing.
“Every youth is digitalizing their business. They market on social media platforms. So if Facebook can also come back and remove that restriction…” the attendee said.
Responding, President Museveni defended the 2021 Facebook ban, saying it was necessary to teach the platform a lesson.
“We shall study that because I had to teach them a lesson, because they thought that without Facebook Uganda would disappear. But Uganda is thriving,” he said.
Museveni used a local example, saying:
“Ookonyero has got some little problem but we are moving ahead. The cows are going home and coming back. We had to make it clear that they can’t stop us. We are unstoppable.”
Fcebookwas blocked in January 2021 after the government accused the company of removing accounts belonging to pro-government users, citing bias, misinformation, and political interference. Since then, many Ugandans have accessed the platform using VPNs. While officials occasionally hint at reopening it, no official timeline has been provided.
The President also spoke about the future of internet access in Uganda, pointing to emerging global technologies like satellite internet.
“The internet is through wires, cables underground, then in the ocean. But Elon Musk is proposing satellite, cheaper… In the past, we were using satellite and it was very expensive. Then we started using cables which were cheaper. But now Elon Musk is saying he can make it even cheaper by satellite,” he said.
He emphasized that Uganda would take advantage of new technologies as global players compete for market space.
For now, Facebook remains blocked on local networks, and Ugandans continue to rely on VPNs. No official confirmation has been made on when or if the platform will return.
Stay tuned here for more updates.
