Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Sixteen-year-old Ritah (not real names) is currently a resident at Wakisa Ministries, an abuse and pregnancy crisis centre in Wakiso district. A herdsman lured the teenager into sex last year after introducing her to pornography. She explains that she would watch pornography with the herdsman whenever …
Read More »Dozens languishing in prisons as Luwero Court seeks better internet connection
Luwero, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | At least 100 people arrested for electoral violence and other crimes are languishing in prisons following the failure by Luwero Chief Magistrate Court to secure stable internet to handle their cases. There are over 362 cases pending before Luwero Magistrate Court. These comprise 285 …
Read More »’Lift the ban on Facebook and widen phone coverage’
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | It is a constitutional right for every Ugandan to have access to information but this provision of the Constitution has been breached by the prolonged ban on internet use and poor network coverage, MPs have noted. Members of Parliament are concerned that at the time when …
Read More »Uganda’s digital economy growth hampered by high cost of data – Report
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | A study on the digital economy in Uganda shows that only 26% of Ugandans are included and the rest are largely left out of the digital-aided services and economic activities. This is mainly because of the low penetration of digital-aided communication gadgets, the smartphone, but also …
Read More »Universities to get high speed internet
World Bank and Knowledge Consulting Ltd hatch $52bn plan | THE INDEPENDENT | Ugandan universities and other post-secondary education institutions could get hooked on the high-speed internet while some students and teachers get free laptops under a proposed plan by the World Bank and Knowledge Consulting Ltd. The ambitious Africa …
Read More »Uganda Human Rights Commission calls for free internet access
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Uganda Human Rights Commission has called for the establishment of free internet access facilities in all districts of Uganda. The call comes as Uganda prepares to join the world to commemorate the International Day for Universal Access to Information on September 28, under the …
Read More »Free internet users baffled with restricted access to MYUG WiFi
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Internet users are finding challenges to access MYUG WiFi, the free government internet due to the newly introduced additional requirements. Initially, one was required to sign in into the network once with their name, email address or Facebook account, phone number, username and password, date …
Read More »NITA-U launches cyber security awareness campaign
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The National Information Technology Authority Uganda has today (July 08) launched a Cyber Security Awareness Campaign dubbed ‘be safe online’ aimed at increasing the public awareness and vigilance about the day-to-day cyber threats. The campaign is funded by the World Bank as part of the …
Read More »JULY 1: New taxes on fuel, alcohol and internet kick in
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Users of mobile phones will effective Thursday, July 1, have to pay a 12 per cent Excise Duty on the value of data, airtime and other value-added services they use, each time they top up. The tax which has until now been charged at 20 …
Read More »New tax on internet to trap VPN users – Gov’t
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development says one of the main reasons as to why the government introduced a 12 percent Excise duty on internet use was to trap Ugandans who were evading OTT by using Virtual Private Networks (VPN). The Over the …
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