Museveni says social media used for 'lying', defends tax for access

Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni attends the 30th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the Heads of State and the Government of the African Union in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni has defended the country’s new social media tax, saying Ugandans were using such platforms for “lying”, and squandering the nation’s hard currency on fees to foreign-owned telecoms firms.

In May Uganda’s parliament passed new tax laws that introduced a levy of 200 shillings ($0.05) per day for access to a range of online services.