This archive report was first published on 17 August 2019.
On August 17, 2019, a report by the Wall Street Journal exposed Huawei's involvement in Ugandan surveillance of musician and politician Bobi Wine.
Bobi Wine, a fierce critic of President Yoweri Museveni, had returned from Washington and Uganda's cyber-surveillance unit had strict orders to intercept his encrypted communications, using the broad powers of a 2010 law that gives the government the ability 'to secure its multidimensional interests.'
According to the report, a team based on the third floor of the capital's police headquarters spent days trying to penetrate Mr Wine's WhatsApp and Skype communications using spyware, but failed. They then asked for help from Huawei staff members, Uganda's top digital supplier.
"The Huawei technicians worked for two days and helped us puncture through," said one senior officer at the surveillance unit.
The Huawei engineers used spyware to penetrate Mr Wine's WhatsApp chat group, named Firebase crew after his band. As a result, authorities scuttled Wine's plans to organize street rallies and arrested the politician and dozens of his supporters.
However, the investigation did not find that Huawei executives in China knew of, directed or approved the activities described. But it offers evidence that Huawei employees played a direct role in government efforts to intercept the private communications of opponents.
In a written statement, Huawei denied the allegations, saying that Huawei has 'never been engaged in 'hacking' activities.'
"Huawei rejects completely these unfounded and inaccurate allegations against our business operations. Our internal investigation shows clearly that Huawei and its employees have not been engaged in any of the activities alleged. We have neither the contracts nor the capabilities, to do so," read part of the statement.
