Operators MTN Uganda and Airtel Uganda and digital infrastructure company ATC Uganda, alongside regulator the Uganda Communications Commission (UCC), have launched a nationwide anti-vandalism campaign aimed at safeguarding the country’s telecom infrastructure.
Called Tokigeza, a Luganda phrase meaning “Don’t do it”, the campaign follows a National Telecom Stakeholder Forum on Vandalism and a commitment from the country’s president to tackle vandalism targeting telecom infrastructure.
According to the Voice of Uganda news service, operators reported over 820 incidents of cable theft, 283 cases of fuel theft, 90 battery thefts, and multiple network disruptions between 2022 and 2024, many causing major service outages.
President Museveni has pledged to support the designation of telecom towers as Critical National Infrastructure; this will allow for tougher penalties, enhanced enforcement and integration of telecom security with national surveillance systems. He has also backed legal reforms to categorise vandalism of telecom infrastructure as economic sabotage.
The campaign itself is supporting strategic interventions such as tougher penalties, regulation of the scrap metal industry – to which some stolen telecom materials are sold – the formation of a multi-agency taskforce to tackle telecom sabotage and the integration of tower security with police CCTV surveillance systems.
MTN Uganda says it is working closely with UCC, government agencies, landlords, boda boda riders (motorcycle taxi drivers), and local leaders to create a united front against vandalism.
This isn’t just a Ugandan problem, of course. Similar issues plague other African countries, notable South Africa where, as we reported recently, Vodacom has instituted what it calls a community-based model to secure towers against battery theft.
