“While some were happy and excited, others were in fear of war’’ – Annet Namusisi

Mixed feelings around the 2021 general elections; the 2021 general elections were welcomed with mixed feelings

While some were happy and excited, others were in fear of war and the safety of their lives. This is because of the earlier lost lives in the November riots. Many citizens in fear of their lives ran off to villages to seek refuge. Others were excited and anticipating change

Suburbs were full of people listening in on radios to know what is happening in the country, the young, the old, they were all anticipating. Will the 2021 general elections change anything? This was the question on the lips of many

The presidential elections were scheduled for Jan 14th, 2021 and they were the main area of interest among the people

A few days to elections, campaigns, and memes about going to the bush after the elections were coined, the keyword on social media was “nsiko”

However, social media was shut down a few days to the elections and the only means to get information was through the old media, the social media blackout was interpreted as a fishy scheme to cheat in the elections

The voter turn up was tremendous on election day, and there was a lot of peace. But the people were not happy with the deployment of the army in several areas like Kampala. A resident of Lusaze-Mapeera says they were living in fear because of the army

The aftermath of the elections was however not any different. Some voters were excited because they had witnessed the victory of their candidates, others were in dissatisfaction. With social media on a blackout, there was not much that could be done since most information travels fast online

When the internet partially opened, social media was awash with videos and pictures showing evidence of cheating in the 2021 general elections. Were the elections free and fair? This was a question many failed to put an answer to

By Annet Namusisi, a student, Makerere University.