As an internet blackout was imposed in the days leading up to Uganda\u2019s January 2026 elections, a video circulating on social media purported to show vote rigging in favour of President Yoweri Museveni. However, this is false; the ballots in the video are from the 2016 polls.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter switching off the internet see what @NRMOnline criminal gangs are doing right now. Dear fellow ugandans @NUP_Ug & our leader HE kyagulanyi aka @HEBobiwine, tell @UgandaEC byabakama that the world is seeing them,\u201d reads an X post<\/a> published on January 13, 2026.<\/p>\n Screenshot of the false X post, taken on January 16, 2026<\/span><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n The post tags Museveni\u2019s ruling party, the National Resistance Movement (NRM), and his main challenger, Bobi Wine, who leads the National Unity Platform (NUP).<\/p>\n It also mentions, Simon Byabakama, the country’s Electoral Commission chairperson.<\/p>\n Shared more than 500 times, the post includes a 90-second clip that shows a person flipping through a stack of ballot papers and appearing to vote for the same candidate at the bottom of each page.<\/p>\n A review of the X poster’s account shows that it is pro-NUP.<\/p>\n The same clip was also shared in another X post<\/a> and on Facebook<\/a>.<\/p>\n Polling day in Uganda was\u00a0marred<\/a> by technical problems after biometric machines — used to confirm voters\u2019 identities — malfunctioned and ballot papers were undelivered for several hours in many areas (archived here<\/a>).<\/p>\n Museveni, who has ruled Uganda since 1986, was accused of \u201cbrutal repression\u201d of the opposition in the run-up to the vote, and his government imposed an internet blackout<\/a> (archived here<\/a>).<\/p>\n Wine was put under house arrest a day after the elections, which Museveni went on to win<\/a>, albeit under a cloud (archived here<\/a>).<\/p>\n However, the video does not show evidence of fraud during Uganda\u2019s 2026 election.<\/p>\n AFP Fact Check used InVID-WeVerify to conduct reverse image searches<\/a> on keyframes from the video.<\/p>\n The results led to several social media posts featuring the same video published<\/a> in 2016 (archived here<\/a>).<\/p>\n “Good morning Ugandans, check out some of the evidence awaiting submission at the supreme court,” reads one such post shared on Facebook.<\/p>\n2026 polls<\/h2>\n
2016 video<\/h2>\n