Bobi Wine appeals to Elon Musk after Starlink blocks Ugandan users ahead of polls
By Mustafa Juma, January 5, 2026National Unity Platform (NUP) presidential candidate Robert Kyagulanyi Sentamu, popularly known as Bobi Wine, has appealed to Elon Musk to help reactivate Starlink internet access in Uganda, just days before the January 15, 2026, general elections.
Taking to his official X account on the night of Sunday, January 4, 2026, Bobi Wine revealed that the US-based satellite internet company had moved to block the use of its services in Uganda, following directives from the Uganda Communications Commission (UCC).
In the statement in which he tagged Musk, the Ugandan opposition figure shared a letter by Starlink, which is locally represented by Starlink Global Internet Services Uganda Ltd (Starlink Uganda), in which it said its satellite internet services have been operating illegally in the country because its Ugandan subsidiary has not yet been licensed to sell or market them.
“Hey @elonmusk, as you cheer the fall of a dictator in Venezuela, here in Uganda, your @Starlink has disabled citizens’ access to its internet just days to the January 15th election in which we seek to peacefully end Museveni’s 40-year-old dictatorship!” Bobi Wine stated.
The politician-cum-musician accused Museveni of suffocating free expression, engaging in mass killings, brutally persecuting the opposition, and suppressing citizens’ rights.
“Like other dictators, Museveni has suffocated free expression, engaged in mass killings, brutally persecuted the opposition, and suppressed citizens’ rights – among other atrocities. Please reactivate Starlink internet access in Uganda so that citizens can be able to communicate and stand a fair chance at shaping their destiny. Democracy dies in darkness!” Bobi Wine appealed to Musk.
Starlink Uganda’s position
In the letter to UCC dated January 2, 2026, Ben MacWilliams, Director for Market Access at Space Exploration Technologies Corp, clarified that Starlink Uganda has never sold, marketed, imported, or distributed Starlink terminals in the country.
He explained that while some individuals were using Starlink in the country, those terminals had been purchased and activated in countries where the service is authorised and then illegally imported into Uganda.
“Starlink Uganda has never sold, marketed, imported, or distributed Starlink terminals in the country,” MacWilliams said in the letter shared by Bobi Wine in his appeal to Musk.
“The company is committed to complying with Ugandan regulations and is working with authorities to finalise the licensing process.”
As a result of concerns raised by UCC, Starlink implemented a new service restriction tool for Uganda on January 1, 2026. The company says that, following this action, there are currently no active Starlink terminals operating within Uganda.
Uganda’s internet shutdown
Bobi Wine had earlier revealed a contingency plan to maintain communication with supporters ahead of the upcoming presidential elections amid concerns of a potential internet shutdown, a move that has been used during past elections to limit coordination and access to election results.
In a statement shared on X on Wednesday, December 31, 2025, Bobi Wine said there is a possible internet shutdown in the upcoming general elections, as witnessed in the previous elections.
“As we all know, the regime is plotting an internet shutdown in the coming days, as they have done in all previous elections. They switch off the internet to block communication and ensure that citizens do not organise, verify their election results, and demand accountability over the massive election theft,” Bobi Wine said.
To counter the anticipated disruption, Bobi Wine encouraged the use of an offline app, which allows communication without an internet connection. The platform will enable supporters to share information, including images of DR Forms, quickly and securely.