You may have come across posts claiming that MTN Uganda is shutting down its operations because of xenophobic unrest in South Africa. Well, it is not. The claims have no factual basis.
MTN Uganda’s official channels, its website, social media platforms, and recent press release have not announced any plans to shut down its operations in Uganda. Instead, the company has been dealing with a separate issue. On Sunday, 5 July 2026, MTN Uganda experienced a nationwide service outage reportedly caused by a power fault at one of its data centres.
The disruption left millions of customers unable to make calls, send text messages, access mobile internet, or use MTN Mobile Money services for several hours. Later that day, MTN Uganda confirmed through its official platforms that the outage was operational in nature and had been resolved.
On Tuesday, 7 July 2026, MTN Uganda CEO Sylvia Mulinge, alongside MTN MoMo Managing Director-designate Phrase Lubega, led a press briefing at the company’s Kampala headquarters, apologising for the disruption and explaining the cause of the nationwide outage on Sunday.
Coinciding with reports of xenophobic incidents in South Africa, MTN Uganda’s nationwide outage appears to have fuelled false online rumours that the company is shutting down its operations in Uganda.
MTN Uganda, a subsidiary of South African multinational MTN Group, is one of the country’s largest telecommunications operators and biggest taxpayers. Its sister company, MTN Mobile Money, a key financial services provider, facilitates millions of daily transactions in Uganda.
If MTN Uganda were ever to exit the Ugandan market, it would not happen overnight. As a licensed telecommunications operator, any decision to cease operations would require regulatory approvals, compliance with licensing obligations, and a structured transition process involving the relevant authorities, including UCC, URA, and URSB. The process would likely take months or longer before final closure.
And as a financial service provider, MTN Mobile Money is regulated by the Bank of Uganda. Any decision to discontinue its services would also require regulatory approval and a managed wind-down process to protect customers, employees, and other stakeholders.
The clearest and most recent example is Standard Chartered Bank, which announced its exit from the Wealth and Retail Banking business in Uganda in November 2024, before agreeing to sell the business to Absa Bank on 24 October 2025. As of the date of this publication, the transition is not complete, with Stan Chartered customers continuing to access banking services normally.
This highlights that the exit of major businesses, such as MTN, does not happen overnight.
In short, if MTN Uganda were ever to exit the Ugandan market, it would require regulatory approvals, customer notifications, and a structured transition process that would likely take months rather than occurring suddenly.
As things stand, there has been no announcement from MTN Uganda, MTN Group, or any relevant authority indicating that MTN is shutting down its operations in Uganda.
