One of the developers of Jack Dorsey’s decentralized messaging app Bitchat has cast doubt on Uganda’s threat to shut down the app ahead of the country’s presidential election.
On Monday, the Uganda Communications Commission executive director, Nyombi Thembo, said his team has the technical know-how to turn off Bitchat.
Bitchat leverages Bluetooth mesh networks, enabling encrypted communication without the need for an internet connection.
It saw a huge rise in downloads last week after opposition leader Bobi Wine encouraged locals to install the app in case the government shuts down the internet, which they have done in previous elections.
“We know how it can be made not to work,” Thembo said while claiming that he works with the highest concentration of software developers and engineers in the country.
“Don’t be excited by Bitchat, it’s a small thing.”
Data shared by Calle on Monday showed that over 400,000 Ugandans have already downloaded the app.
“You can’t stop Bitchat. You can’t stop us,” Calle said in a post on X, while urging more Ugandan developers to contribute to open-source projects.
“We don’t need anyone’s permission to write code. Free and open source. Unstoppable. From the people for the people.”
Uganda has cut the internet in past elections
During the 2016 election, long-time Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni imposed a nationwide block on internet and social media access, citing security and safety concerns.
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A similar situation also unfolded in 2021, when a four-day internet blackout started on election night.
Bitchat could be useful for Ugandans in the event of another internet blackout, as it is fully decentralized with no central servers, accounts, email addresses or phone numbers to register, and no infrastructure dependencies.
Bitchat is being downloaded all over the world
In September, nearly 50,000 Nepalese users turned to the app to sidestep a brief social media ban as corruption protests unfolded, while Madagascar saw a similar surge in downloads for similar reasons about three weeks later.
It was the second-most downloaded app on the Apple App Store in Jamaica when Hurricane Melissa struck in November, offering a lifeline for many of the country’s 2.8 million people as internet access faltered in the region.
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