By Alexander Luyima
I watched the Honourable Minister of ICT, Justine Kasule Lumumba, address the nation with a straight face. She told Ugandans that shutting down NTV and the Daily Monitor was justified and authorised by President Yoweri Museveni. Then, in the very same breath, she made a claim that stopped me cold.
She said Uganda has technology today because of President Museveni’s leadership.
I do not say this lightly, Honourable Minister. That statement is not just wrong. It is dangerously misleading. As someone deeply concerned with governance, technology, and accountability, I cannot let it pass without challenge.
So let us examine it clearly, factually, and without political gloss.
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Technology Is Not a Presidential Gift
Let us settle one thing from the beginning.
Technology is not a favour. It is not a handout. It is not a trophy that any President hands to citizens.
Technology is the cumulative result of global industrialisation, scientific discovery, fierce competition, and sustained investment in education, research, and infrastructure. The countries that built today’s digital world did not receive it by decree. They built it through decades of innovation.
Now consider Uganda.
We did not invent the smartphone. We did not create the internet. We do not own the digital platforms that power our businesses, communication, education, and civic engagement.
We are users of technologies developed elsewhere. To claim that Uganda’s access to modern technology is proof that one political leader gave it to us confuses adoption with invention. It is like praising the owner of a bicycle for inventing the wheel.
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The Contradiction That Exposes the Truth
Here is where the Minister’s argument completely collapses.
If this government truly believes in technology, why does it silence the very platforms that depend on it? Why shut down media organisations like NTV and the Daily Monitor that operate within the digital ecosystem the government claims to celebrate?
You cannot praise technological progress while switching off access to information.
That is not progress.
That is control presented as development.
For many Ugandans, the shutdown of major media outlets was not an abstract policy decision. It directly affected their ability to access news, diverse viewpoints, and information about events unfolding in their own country.
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Real Technology Means Open Information
Real technological advancement is not measured only by devices or internet connections.
It is measured by whether citizens can freely exchange ideas, access information, question authority, innovate, and participate in public life without unnecessary restrictions.
In my view, technology without transparency loses much of its democratic value. A country’s digital maturity should be judged not only by its infrastructure, but also by whether people are free to use that infrastructure to seek knowledge, communicate openly, and hold leaders accountable.
When governments restrict media, they are not simply limiting broadcasts. They are also limiting the free flow of information that allows societies to innovate and citizens to make informed decisions.
Countries that genuinely embrace innovation expand access to information. They strengthen independent institutions, encourage debate, and recognise that informed citizens contribute to national development.
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Uganda’s Real Problem Is Not Intelligence. It Is Institutions.
Uganda is not behind because Ugandans lack intelligence.
Our people are talented, resilient, entrepreneurial, and innovative.
The greater challenge is building strong institutions that encourage innovation, protect fundamental freedoms, support research, and create an environment where ideas can flourish beyond politics.
Too often, political survival has taken precedence over institutional development. That has consequences for research, press freedom, accountability, and long-term national competitiveness.
In my view, a government cannot convincingly claim to champion the digital economy while simultaneously restricting independent journalism or limiting access to information. Technology policies should expand opportunity, not narrow civic space.
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The Irony That Cannot Be Ignored
Technology advanced because knowledge spread across borders.
The internet grew because information was shared.
Modern smartphones exist because thousands of researchers, engineers, universities, and companies across the world built upon one another’s discoveries over many decades.
To suggest that one political leader deserves credit for those global achievements misunderstands how technological progress happens.
Ugandans deserve credit for how creatively they use technology every day. But the technology itself is part of a much larger global story.
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My Final Word to the Honourable Minister
Honourable Minister, with respect, technology did not advance because of control.
It advanced through innovation, openness, competition, and human ingenuity.
If anything, restricting media in the digital age raises an important question about whether technological infrastructure alone is enough if citizens cannot freely use it to access information and express diverse views.
Uganda’s future will not be determined simply by cables, towers, or smartphones.
It will also be determined by the strength of its institutions, the openness of its society, and the confidence it places in an informed citizenry.
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Your Turn
Do you believe Uganda’s technological progress is primarily the result of domestic political leadership, or is it largely the product of global technological innovation that Uganda has adopted?
How have media restrictions affected your access to information?
Join the conversation. Share your perspective respectfully. Democracy grows stronger when ideas are debated openly.
