KAMPALA, Uganda — A new report is raising concerns that Uganda’s expanding digital surveillance network is being used to target journalists and civil society actors.
A report by the digital rights advocacy group Unwanted Witness, released in June, details how governments in seven countries in East and Southern Africa are using surveillance technology to suppress civil society, journalists and human rights defenders. The findings align with a recent story from The Independent, which highlighted the case of Canary Mugume, a journalist with NBS Television.
Mugume told The Independent that his phones have been stolen twice in incidents he believes were targeted assaults. He also said he previously received an alert from Apple that he may have been the target of spyware, which he suspects came from the government.
The concerns are particularly heightened as Uganda approaches its 2026 general elections. The Unwanted Witness report warns that so-called “smart city” projects, often presented by governments as tools for fighting crime, function in reality as mass surveillance systems that threaten personal data.
In recent years, Uganda has expanded its digital surveillance capabilities through several initiatives. These include a facial recognition-based “safe city” project by Chinese tech giant Huawei, compulsory biometric SIM card registration linked to national IDs, digital license plates with real-time tracking, social media monitoring and the use of spyware.
The Unwanted Witness report recommends that Uganda and other countries take remedial actions, including legal reforms, establishing stronger and independent oversight bodies, demanding transparency from tech providers, and launching public awareness campaigns on digital rights.
