A nationwide power outage that plunged Uganda into darkness on Sunday morning triggered widespread public anger, as authorities confirmed the disruption and launched investigations into its cause.
The Uganda Electricity Transmission Company Limited (UETCL) said in an official notice that “a nationwide power outage occurred on 12th April 2026 at 8:53 AM,” adding that technical teams had been dispatched.
“Our technical teams have commenced efforts to restore the national grid in the shortest time possible and investigating the cause of the incident,” the company said.
The outage, which lasted for hours in several areas, drew sharp reactions from the public, with many questioning the resilience of Uganda’s electricity infrastructure.
“This is an urgent matter that requires immediate resolution. It has been approximately two hours… how can the whole country spend all those hours without electricity?” said Alex J Muhangi in a post on X.
Other users reported outages across different regions, including Gulu, while some expressed frustration over delayed restoration.
“It’s now 10:39 AM and it’s not yet back,” one user posted, while another added, “We can’t even get the basics right.”
Beyond frustration, the outage also triggered speculation about possible causes, including whether the national grid had been compromised.
However, there is no evidence at this stage to suggest that Uganda’s power system was hacked. UETCL has not indicated any cyberattack and instead said investigations are ongoing, pointing more likely to a technical fault or system disturbance within the grid.
Energy experts note that nationwide outages are typically caused by issues such as transmission line faults, system imbalances, or cascading failures in the grid, rather than cyber intrusions, which remain rare and would require confirmation by authorities.
Some citizens pointed to long-standing infrastructure concerns.
“Understand that the wires crossing… keep making a sharp sound every day. They need separators,” one user said, highlighting maintenance gaps.
UETCL later reassured the public that restoration efforts were ongoing, noting in responses online that “full recovery will take some time,” even as power gradually returned in parts of the country.
The incident has renewed scrutiny over the stability of Uganda’s power transmission network, with analysts warning that while generation capacity has improved significantly, grid reliability remains a critical challenge as demand continues to grow.