The integrity of digital policies and political participation in Uganda: a tale of dissent and digital repression?

Abstract

ABSTRACT In response to an unresponsive government, citizens in Uganda have reacted by constructing their own spaces of participation from below. These bottom-up participatory spaces help citizens to escape the repression of regimes and counter their elimination by political representatives and administrative elites from decision-making processes. However, the participatory instruments from below seemingly threaten the regime's survival and the elites’ hierarchies. Consequently, the use of bottom-up instruments in Uganda has often faced severe restrictions and control from the state through the use of online and digital communication laws. What is the level of integrity and fairness of digital policies and new online and digital communication laws in Uganda? The article profiles the monitoring of online instruments of participation by the state, and discusses the views of Ugandans towards the integrity and implementation of digital policies in Uganda.