MTN’s digital infrastructure arm Bayobab announced on Tuesday it has completed a 260-km fibre route in Uganda from Malaba to Kampala that interconnects with Bayobab’s recently completed fibre route in Kenya from Malaba to Mombasa.
The new Uganda fibre route – which was constructed from December 2024 to February 2025 – runs along the Uganda Railway corridor from Kampala to Tororo, with an extension to Malaba.
The route provides Uganda with a direct, low-latency link with over 1 Tbps of capacity into Kenya’s broader digital infrastructure via Bayobab’s fibre link – completed in August 2024 – that runs along the Kenya Railways meter gauge route from Malaba and Busia to Mombasa.
Bayobab said the new Malaba-Kampala route gives Uganda the shortest and most resilient path to the Kenya–Uganda border and onward to Mombasa’s subsea cable landing stations.
Sylvia Anampiu, MD of Bayobab Kenya, said the route cements Kenya’s position as a regional digital gateway.
"By interconnecting with Uganda via this high-capacity route, we are enhancing regional digital resilience, creating alternative routes for traffic, and opening new opportunities for businesses and communities along the corridor,” she said in a statement.
Juliet Nsubuga, MD of Bayobab Uganda, said the Uganda fibre route connects major data centres across Uganda and Kenya and supports hyperscalers and enterprises looking to expand within the East African region.
“This new route caters to the needs of international and national technology and digital players, as well as telecoms and ISPs that serve communities, demonstrating our commitment to connecting Africa,” she said.
