The restoration followed four days of restricted connectivity that began on January 13, when the Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) ordered all telecommunications companies to suspend internet services. The directive also required operators to stop selling new SIM cards and halt other communication-related activities.
Authorities said the shutdown was aimed at limiting the spread of misinformation and ensuring the smooth conduct and integrity of the electoral process.
According to reports from local media, internet services began gradually returning shortly after the Electoral Commission announced President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni’s victory.
Global internet monitoring organization NetBlocks also confirmed the development, noting that connectivity was being restored progressively after days of disruption.
Museveni, 81, was declared the winner of the presidential election, securing a seventh term in office. The Electoral Commission said he garnered 71.65 percent of the vote. His main challenger, opposition leader and musician-turned-politician Bobi Wine, 43, received 24.72 percent of the vote, according to the official results.
According to final results announced by the Electoral Commission, the country’s electoral body, Museveni garnered more than 7.9 million votes out of about 11.3 million valid ballots cast.
His closest challenger, Robert Kyagulanyi, also known as Bobi Wine, received over 2.7 million votes, while the remaining votes were shared among six other presidential candidates, the results showed.
Announcing the outcome, EC Chairperson Simon Byabakama described the polls on Thursday as generally peaceful, with no major incidents reported, and urged those contesting the results to seek redress through the courts.
Hours before the results were declared, unconfirmed reports emerged that Kyagulanyi had been arrested at his home in Magere, central Wakiso District. Police later dismissed the claims, saying he remained at his residence while officers were deployed in the area as a preventive measure.
Police spokesperson Kituuma Rusoke also urged political actors to refrain from issuing inflammatory statements.
Days before the elections, the United Nations Human Rights Office said the elections were taking place in an environment marked by repression and intimidation against opposition figures, journalists, and human rights defenders — claims the government rejected as baseless.
Museveni’s victory extends his time in power to more than 40 years. He first came to office after a five-year guerrilla war following the country’s 1980 elections. Since the restoration of general elections in 1996, he has won successive presidential contests.
Kyagulanyi, a former popular musician who has now challenged Museveni twice, campaigned under the slogan “Protest Vote,” drawing strong support from younger voters and accusing the government of corruption and human rights abuses.
Richard Twodong, secretary general of the ruling National Resistance Movement party, described the party’s presidential victory as largely free and fair, apart from a few issues raised by the opposition, saying Museveni’s campaign focus on poverty alleviation resonated with voters.
The opposition National Unity Platform, led by Kyagulanyi, rejected the results. Party official Benjamin Katana said the outcome did not reflect events on election day and called for public legal protests.
In a preliminary report issued Thursday, the African Union (AU) observer mission said the elections were held in an environment calmer than in 2021.
Born in Rubavu District, Busasamana Sector, Kageshi Cell, Dushime crossed into the DRC at age 14. Two years later, he was recruited into the FDLR.
He is among the former combatants reintegrated into civilian life in the 75th intake. On Thursday, January 15, 2026, he was among former combatants who took part in a civic education program designed to help returnees contribute to national development, improve their livelihoods and uphold unity.
In an interview with IGIHE, Dushime,25, shared the story of his long and difficult journey back home.
“They indoctrinated us completely. We truly believed we would one day take Rwanda and rise through the ranks. I spent nine years there. I finally left after fierce fighting against the M23 in Goma, where we lost more than 150 fighters out of over 700,” he said.
Despite the defeat, he explained, FDLR commanders blamed the Congolese army (FARDC): “They told us the FARDC had deliberately let M23 take Goma. We were abandoned—left to fight alone while the Wazalendo and FARDC pulled back.”
He described the brutal battles across multiple locations: “We fought on Mount Goma, in Gihisi, Kabutembo, Madgengo, Terminus, Mugunga, and all the way to Rusayo. After that, we fled into Virunga National Park, moved to Gitsimba, and eventually reached Tongo in Rutshuru.”
Dushime first earned a living transporting goods by bicycle, then passengers after an FDLR soldier bought him a motorcycle. Gradually drawn deeper into the group, he eventually joined fully and spent nine years fighting against Rwanda.
He never received a salary; fighters survived by looting civilians. For part of his time, he served as bodyguard to Protogène Ruvugayimikore, known as Colonel Ruhinda Gaby, commander of the FDLR’s elite CRAP commando unit (Commando de Recherche et d’Action en Profondeur).
After Ruhinda was killed in Masisi in 2023, the unit continued under Lt Col Pierre Célestin Rurakabije, alias Guillaume Samba. Dushime eventually escaped while on a water-fetching mission in Bwiza, abandoning his uniform and weapon.
He travelled from Bwiza to Sake, took a motorcycle to Kibati, passed through Kanyanja, and crossed into Rwanda via illegal routes. He turned himself in to local authorities, who handed him to the Rwanda Defence Force (RDF). He was then transferred to Mutobo Demobilization and Reintegration Centre before being released into civilian life.
The turning point, Dushime said, came when he saw fellow fighters killed in Goma and buried without dignity, sometimes simply covered with grass. “That opened my eyes. I realised I was fighting for nothing.”
Today, he describes life in Rwanda as stable and full of hope. With the 50,000 Rwandan francs he received upon reintegration, he bought a pig that has since produced six piglets. He is determined to overcome poverty and urges former comrades still in the forests to return and build better lives together.
Western Province Reserve Force Commander, Brig Gen Albert Rugambwa, warned the returnees against rejoining armed groups opposed to the government. He noted that some are tempted by lingering genocide ideology.
He assured them that reserve force programs nationwide would help them find work suited to their skills and discipline, and encouraged forming cooperatives to improve livelihoods alongside other citizens.
Valérie Nyirahabineza, Chairperson of the Rwanda Demobilization and Reintegration Commission (RDRC), urged district leaders to support the full societal reintegration of former combatants.
She expressed satisfaction that returnees are now actively encouraging those still in eastern Congo’s forests to come home, having realised they were misled and now bearing a responsibility to share the truth with others.
The agreement was signed in Lomé, Togo, on January 16, 2026, by Rwanda’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Ambassador Olivier Nduhungirehe and his Togolese counterpart, Professor Robert Dussey.
The development was confirmed through a statement released by Rwanda’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The signing advances commitments made during the official visit of Togolese President Faure Essozimna Gnassingbé to Rwanda from January 18 to 19, 2025.
The visit focused on accelerating the implementation of previously agreed commitments and identifying new areas of cooperation.
President Faure was accompanied by a high-level delegation of senior Togolese officials, who held discussions with their Rwandan counterparts on ways to fast-track development across various sectors.
At the time, President Paul Kagame and President Faure commended the strong and friendly relations between Rwanda and Togo and pledged to further expand cooperation in areas including political consultations and economic cooperation.
The two leaders also urged relevant institutions to speed up the implementation of agreed commitments, including the establishment of a joint commission, the removal of visa requirements and the elimination of double taxation between the two countries.
“I may put a tariff on countries if they don’t go along with Greenland, because we need Greenland for national security,” Trump said at a White House event, without giving more details.
Greenland has a self-governing government within the Kingdom of Denmark, with Copenhagen retaining authority over its defense and foreign policies. The United States maintains a military base on the island. Since returning to the White House in 2025, Trump has repeatedly expressed a strong desire to “obtain” Greenland by any means.
A “fundamental disagreement” persists over the future of Greenland following a meeting of high-ranking officials from the United States, Denmark and Greenland on Wednesday.
U.S. Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio met Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen and Greenlandic Foreign Minister Vivian Motzfeldt at the White House.
Besides wide-ranging tariff measures announced in 2025, the Trump administration has expanded the use or threatened to use tariff tools to curb the entry of fentanyl, in sanctions on Iran, a dispute over water rights with Mexico, and other non-traditional areas.
Miguel Perez Pirela was appointed minister of communication and information, replacing Freddy Nanez, who will head the Ministry of Ecosocialism, Rodriguez said on Telegram.
In his new role, Nanez will be responsible for “continuing to promote public policies for the protection of our Pachamama (Mother Earth) and all matters related to environmental protection,” Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez also appointed Anibal Coronado as minister of transport.
Local authorities said Saturday that about 20,000 pigs raised at the farm will be culled in accordance with quarantine regulations.
The report said local animal health authorities began testing after the farm owner reported pig deaths on Friday. The results, confirmed at around 1 a.m. local time Saturday, showed the pigs had tested positive for ASF. This marks the first ASF case reported in Gangwon province in about 14 months, following the previous outbreak detected in November 2024.
To prevent the spread of the disease, quarantine authorities have dispatched an initial response team and an epidemiological investigation team to the farm. Access to the premises has been restricted, while disinfection and epidemiological investigations are underway.
African swine fever is an acute, highly contagious viral disease affecting pigs, characterized by high fever, severe internal bleeding and a high mortality rate. The disease is not transmissible to humans, but contaminated food, footwear, tools and vehicles can facilitate the spread of the virus.
President Kagame was received on arrival by Guinea’s Prime Minister, Amadou Oury Bah, the Office of the President said.
The visit follows his recent message congratulating Doumbouya on his election victory. On Monday, January 5, 2026, Kagame welcomed the outcome of the election, expressing optimism about the future of relations between Rwanda and Guinea.
“Congratulations to my brother, President Mamadi Doumbouya, on his election as President of the Republic of Guinea. We look forward to deepening our strong bilateral relations and working closely together to advance our shared priorities and the prosperity of our nations,” Kagame said in a post on X.
Doumbouya’s victory was formally confirmed by Guinea’s Supreme Court on Sunday, January 4, marking his transition from interim junta leader to democratically elected president.
The court validated provisional results that credited the 41-year-old leader with 86.72 percent of the vote. His closest challenger, Abdoulaye Yero Baldé, received 6.59 percent, with the court noting that Baldé later withdrew his legal challenge to the results.
The election was Guinea’s first presidential vote since the September 2021 coup that removed former president Alpha Condé. It was conducted under a new constitution that lifted restrictions on military leaders contesting elections and extended the presidential term from five to seven years.
Rwanda and Guinea maintain cordial and steadily strengthening relations, supported by high-level visits and expanding cooperation across multiple sectors.
“Our task is coordinated and effective work to stabilize the situation in the energy system as soon as possible, in particular, in the city of Kiev,” Shmyhal said on Telegram.
Under the emergency measure, residents will be allowed to access emergency heating shelters at night despite the curfew, Shmyhal said.
The government has also instructed relevant agencies to streamline procedures for connecting backup power equipment to the electricity grid and to redistribute such equipment across regions based on critical need.
State-run companies, including Ukrainian Railways and gas operator Naftogaz, have been ordered to increase electricity imports to at least 50 percent of their total consumption.
Earlier this week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that the energy situation is most difficult in Kiev, Odesa and the central Dnipropetrovsk region.
The report shows that total formal external trade in goods amounted to $1.93 billion in Q3 2025, representing a 25.7 percent decline compared to the same quarter in 2024, reflecting a general slowdown in trade activity during the period.
Within this overall contraction, imports stood at $1.37 billion in Q3 2025, down from $1.75 billion in Q3 2024, marking a 21.85 percent year-on-year decrease. The sharp fall in imports played a key role in easing Rwanda’s trade deficit, even as external trade volumes declined.
Despite the annual drop, imports rose on a quarterly basis, increasing by 9.74 percent compared to the second quarter of 2025, when imports were valued at $1.25 billion, pointing to a modest rebound in import demand.
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China remained Rwanda’s largest source of imports in Q3 2025, supplying goods worth $311.41 million. Other major import partners included Tanzania ($156.85 million), India ($118.47 million), Kenya ($102.24 million) and the United Arab Emirates ($98.87 million). Together, these five countries accounted for 57.55 percent of Rwanda’s total imports during the quarter.
At the regional level, imports from East African Community (EAC) partner states totaled $325.88 million, marking a 40 percent decline compared to the same quarter in 2024. Tanzania and Kenya continued to dominate Rwanda’s imports from the bloc, jointly accounting for nearly three-quarters of EAC-sourced imports.
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In terms of commodities, food and live animals remained Rwanda’s largest import category, valued at $248 million in Q3 2025. This was followed by machinery and transport equipment ($244.48 million), manufactured goods classified chiefly by material ($227.72 million), mineral fuels and lubricants ($179.71 million), and chemicals and related products ($173.89 million).
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While imports fell sharply, Rwanda’s export performance showed mixed results during the quarter. Domestic exports were valued at $389.99 million in Q3 2025, reflecting a 12.7 percent increase compared to the previous quarter, but a 41.53 percent decline compared to Q3 2024.
Exports remained concentrated in key markets, led by the United Arab Emirates and the Democratic Republic of Congo, followed by China and regional EAC partners. Exports to the EAC recorded strong year-on-year growth, driven mainly by increased shipments to Uganda.
Rwanda’s export sector was largely driven by mineral and agricultural commodities. The report shows that gold, coltan, cassiterite and wolfram remained Rwanda’s leading export products in Q3 2025, alongside traditional agricultural exports such as coffee and tea.
Overall, imports accounted for 70.83 percent of Rwanda’s total trade in goods during the quarter, while domestic exports and re-exports contributed 20.18 percent and 8.99 percent, respectively.
