The social media platform says Uganda's information ministry used fake accounts to "target public debate" ahead of elections.
Long-time President Yoweri Museveni faces a challenge from singer-turned-politician Bobi Wine
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Facebook said Monday it had removed a network of accounts and pages linked to Uganda's information ministry.
The ministry, used the fake accounts to "manage pages, comment on other people's content, impersonate users, re-share posts in groups to make them appear more popular than they were," Facebook said in a statement.
Uganda is holding presidential election ons Thursday.
Long-time leader Yoweri Museveni is facing a challenge from opposition frontrunner Bobi Wine, a pop-star turned politician. Although Museveni is currently ahead in polls, he sees Wine as a threat to his 34-year rule of the East African country.
"Given the impending election in Uganda, we moved quickly to investigate and take down this network," a Facebook spokesperson said.
The run-up to the election has been violent, with government security forces using tear gas and live bullets to disperse opposition rallies, killing dozens.
Singer-turned-lawmaker Bobi Wine's star power has rattled Uganda's ruling partyImage: Abubaker Lubowa/REUTERS
Uganda government decries 'interference'
Presidential spokesman Don Wanyama told the Associated Press that Facebook was "interfering in the electoral process of Uganda," adding that the removal of the accounts was evidence of outside support for Wine.
Wanyama added that Facebook reportedly blocked the accounts of Museveni campaigners, especially those who communicate in the local Luganda language.
Museveni has accused the popular singer, whose real name is Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, of being an agent of "outsiders, homosexuals and others who don't like the stability and independence of Uganda.''
"Everything we do, we do legally," Wine told DW Monday, adding that campaigning and free and fair elections are guaranteed under Ugandan law.
Wine and other opposition figures have called the 76-year-old Museveni a dictator, who has ruled without any opposition since 1986.
Museveni, Wine claims, has destroyed institutions and taken control of parliament and the judiciary. "President Museveni hates to lose, and yet he is doing everything that makes him lose."
Africa in 2021: Will political crises persist?
COVID-19, elections, conflicts and the world's largest free trade zone: DW outlines the key issues facing the African continent in 2021.
Image: Eduardo Soteras/AFP/Getty Images
The world's largest free trade zone is to be created in Africa
On New Year's Day 2021, Africa's economies ring in a new era with the official launch of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). The coming months and years will see the creation of the world's largest free trade zone. Experts say the agreement has enormous potential, but the COVID-19 pandemic has made implementation difficult.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/S. Kambou
Showdown in Uganda
Police operations targeting the opposition — including challengers and protesters — have resulted in dozens of deaths. Images from Uganda's election campaign have sparked worldwide concern. On January 14, citizens will choose between long-term President Yoweri Museveni and former pop star Robert Kyagulanyi, aka Bobi Wine. Observers have stressed the importance of holding free and fair elections.
Image: Lubega Emmanuel/DW
A fateful year for the Horn of Africa
Will Ethiopians find unity after the central government's offensive against the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF)? Or will the country fracture under the weight of its many internal conflicts? 2021 could decide whether Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed can achieve democratic balance in Ethiopia. The elections planned for June 5 may be his best chance.
Image: Amanuel Sileshi/AFP
Refugee crises
One consequence of the conflict in Tigray is clear: Tens of thousands have fled the embattled region to neighboring Sudan, where the fledgling government is struggling to provide for them. Elsewhere, too, it is feared that ongoing conflicts will lead to new refugee crises in 2021, while old ones remain unresolved. It will be another difficult year in Cameroon, northern Nigeria and DR Congo.
Image: Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah/REUTERS
Difficult elections ahead
Alongside Uganda and Ethiopia, Benin, Somalia, South Sudan, Zambia, Cape Verde, Chad and The Gambia will head to the polls in 2021 to elect new heads of state. While some countries are hoping for relatively uneventful elections, the situation in Somalia and South Sudan is already tense due to challenging security environments.
Image: Cellou Binani/AFP
Hope for a COVID-19 vaccine
Although African countries are making it through the pandemic better than expected, the health and economic consequences are immense. Hopes for a vaccine are high, but Africa is not yet ready for "the largest vaccination campaign ever," Matshidiso Moeti of the World Health Organization (WHO) said recently. Experts don't expect vaccination to begin until mid-2021 due to logistical difficulties.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/S. Mednick
Is debt relief coming?
One consequence of the coronavirus pandemic won't simply disappear even after vaccinations are rolled out: Some African countries are facing state bankruptcy. Although the G20 initiated debt relief at the onset of the outbreak, NGOs are now calling for a comprehensive debt cut to mitigate the humanitarian consequences of COVID-19.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/T. Karumba
The climate crisis looms
Droughts, locust plagues, floods: No continent is suffering so acutely from the climate crisis as Africa. But young activists like Vanessa Nakate from Uganda no longer want the lip service of the Global North. She is fighting for Africa to be heard on the global stage and will be one of the continent's most vocal representatives the at the UN Climate Change Conference in November 2021.
