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Developers of Bitchat, a decentralized messaging app, are challenging Ugandan regulators’ claims they can block the platform, setting up a high-stakes test of whether mesh-network technology can evade government censorship.
The clash comes as Uganda approaches elections and more than 400,000 citizens have downloaded the app amid fears of internet shutdowns like those imposed during previous votes.
Interest in the Bitchat messaging app surged after opposition leader Bobi Wine urged supporters to download it as a contingency against a possible internet blackout.
Uganda has a documented history of restricting online access during politically sensitive periods, especially elections.
“We know how it can be made not to work,” Thembo said, downplaying the platform’s significance. “Don’t be excited by Bitchat, it’s a small thing.”
That assertion was swiftly rejected by one of the app’s developers, known online as Calle, who directly challenged the regulator’s claims.
You can’t stop Bitchat. You can’t stop us, Calle wrote on X, describing the project as “free and open source” and “from the people for the people.”
According to Calle, internal data shows more than 400,000 Ugandans have already downloaded the Bitchat messaging app—an extraordinary figure given the app only entered beta testing in July.
At the heart of the dispute is how the Bitchat messaging app actually works. Unlike traditional platforms such as WhatsApp or Telegram, Bitchat does not rely on centralized servers, phone numbers, email addresses, or user accounts.
Instead, the Bitchat messaging app uses Bluetooth-based mesh networking to relay encrypted messages between nearby devices. Messages hop from phone to phone, creating a decentralized web that can function even when mobile data, broadband, or social media platforms are shut down.
According to the app’s technical documentation, there is no single point of failure—making conventional blocking methods far less effective.
“Decentralized mesh networks dramatically reduce a government’s ability to enforce blanket communication bans,” said cybersecurity researcher Eva Galperin, director of cybersecurity at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, in previous commentary on similar technologies.
They shift power away from centralized infrastructure and toward individual users.
Skepticism toward official assurances is rooted in precedent. In 2016, President Yoweri Museveni ordered a nationwide internet and social media shutdown during elections, citing security concerns.
A similar blackout followed in 2021, when Uganda experienced a four-day internet shutdown beginning on election night.
Those actions triggered international criticism from human rights organizations and digital freedom advocates, who warned that internet shutdowns undermine democratic participation and transparency.
Against that backdrop, supporters argue the Bitchat messaging app represents a critical tool for civic resilience.
Uganda is not the first country where the Bitchat messaging app has gained traction during crises.
During protests in Nepal last September, tens of thousands reportedly turned to the app amid a temporary social media ban. Madagascar saw a similar surge weeks later.
In Jamaica, the Bitchat messaging app briefly ranked among the most downloaded tools during Hurricane Melissa in November, when connectivity outages left residents scrambling for alternative communication channels.
“These moments show why decentralized communication matters,” Calle said in earlier developer discussions. “When infrastructure fails—politically or physically—people still need to talk.”
Whether Ugandan authorities can meaningfully restrict the Bitchat messaging app remains unproven.
What is clear is that the platform has become a flashpoint in the broader global debate over decentralization, state power, and digital rights.
As elections approach and political tensions rise, the Bitchat messaging app is no longer just a technical experiment—it is a real-world stress test of whether decentralized technology can outmaneuver centralized control.
