Bobi Wine promotes Bitchat amid Uganda internet blackout fears
Ugandan opposition leader Bobi Wine has urged supporters to download Bitchat, a decentralized peer-to-peer messaging app backed by Jack Dorsey, ahead of the country’s 2026 presidential election, citing the risk of potential communications shutdowns.
Wine alleged in a post on X on Tuesday that authorities may again restrict access to the internet and social media in the lead-up to the vote on January 15, referencing nationwide disruptions imposed during the 2016 and 2021 elections. Those shutdowns were implemented by President Yoweri Museveni’s government, which at the time cited security and public safety concerns, according to the Pan-African Human Rights Defenders Network.
He claimed that cutting access is used to prevent the public from organizing, verifying results, and seeking accountability for alleged electoral fraud.
Source: Bobi Wine
The Pan-African Human Rights Defenders Network has stated that such measures disproportionately affect opposition groups that rely on social platforms for campaigning and mobilization. Ugandan authorities have previously said the restrictions were necessary to maintain national security and public order during elections.
Starlink imports also restricted
Reuters reported last week that a government memo instructed officials to curb the importation of Starlink satellite internet equipment from Elon Musk’s SpaceX, which can deliver high-speed connectivity in areas lacking reliable service.
The Ugandan government is restricting the importation of Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite internet equipment. Source: Bobi Wine
Dorsey launched Bitchat’s beta in July. The app uses Bluetooth-based mesh networking to enable encrypted, offline communication. Its white paper says the service is fully decentralized, with no central servers, accounts, email addresses, phone numbers for registration, or infrastructure dependencies.
Wine said Bitchat could facilitate rapid outreach to “thousands of people” and help disseminate critical information to targeted or broader audiences during the election period.
He leads the National Unity Platform and ran in the 2021 presidential election, which he lost to Museveni. Wine has alleged the vote was rigged. Museveni, who has governed Uganda since 1986, denies the claims.
Bitchat trending on Google in Uganda
Google Trends data show searches for “Bitchat” in Uganda jumped from 0 to 100 on Wednesday, the day after Wine’s post. Queries such as “Bitchat apk download” and “how to use Bitchat” ranked among the top five related searches and were labeled as “breakout” for seeing a substantial increase in activity.
According to Chrome-Stats, Bitchat has recorded 936,104 downloads since launch, including more than 4,252 in the past day and over 32,524 in the past week.
In September, Madagascar also saw a surge in Bitchat downloads during protests, following similar increases earlier that month amid unrest in Nepal and Indonesia.
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