Please pray for the people of Uganda. As of Tuesday, January 12, 2021 the government has blocked access to all social media services. Ugandan elections are being held this Thursday, January 14, and it is believed the government is blocking it to discourage campaigning of rival candidates.
What makes it worse is that one of the services targeted is WhatsApp, a messaging service owned by Facebook. Though this is not as popular here in the USA, internationally, and particularly in African countries this ends up being the default messaging and communication app for most people. There are some people who are utilizing VPN software in order to get around the restriction, but many don’t have the technical knowledge to do that. Right now Ugandans are feeling cut off from being able to communicate with one another, as they have learned to rely so heavily on these services like many Americans do.
Though it is believed the government will restore these services sometime after the election, no date has officially been given. This uncertainty causes much fear and doubt for Ugandans. On top of that, the presidential elections are just a couple days away. There is much fear of rioting and violence as the government seeks to maintain control of its people during the elections.
We are asking for your prayers for the following:
- For the government to restore social media services to the country
- For a peaceful election period.
- For God to work in the heart of Uganda’s leaders to make decisions that will bring about peace and prosperity in the country.
If you’d like to read more about the shutdown, Reuter’s goes into more detail: https://shrtm.nu/NVTn