Airtel Africa

Following a January 13, 2026 directive (ECO/436) from the Uganda Communications Commission, Airtel Uganda shut down public internet access, social media, messaging apps, and mobile broadband ahead of the January 15 presidential election, alongside MTN Uganda. Airtel did not publicly challenge the directive's legal basis. Human Rights Watch and the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights condemned the shutdown as a violation of the African Charter's rights to expression, association, and political participation. Airtel Uganda and MTN Uganda were subsequently named as respondents in a Ugandan High Court lawsuit challenging the shutdown's legality.

Around Tanzania's October 29, 2025 general election, all five major mobile network operators - including Airtel Tanzania - carried out a coordinated, nationwide shutdown of internet access and social media platforms that NetBlocks confirmed was 'not a technical glitch but a nationwide, coordinated action.' Keyword filtering blocked text messages containing opposition leader Tundu Lissu's name. On October 28, the Net Rights Coalition sent a public letter, copied to Airtel's CEO among others, warning operators not to comply with an illegal shutdown order; Airtel complied anyway. The roughly six-day blackout coincided with a violent post-election crackdown described by advocacy groups as among the deadliest in Tanzania's post-independence history. A Tanzanian High Court petition was filed naming the government and all five MNOs, including Airtel, as respondents, alleging violations of constitutional rights to expression and access to information. Estimated industry-wide revenue loss from the shutdown was about $7.4 million.