Uganda on Friday denied a report that employees of Chinese telecom giant Huawei had aided a domestic spying operation targeting pop star turned opposition icon Bobi Wine.
The Wall Street Journal reported this week that Huawei technicians helped Ugandan authorities use spyware to intercept Wine's Skype and WhatsApp communications.
Wine, whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi, became a lawmaker in 2017 and is preparing to challenge President Yoweri Museveni in Uganda's 2021 presidential election.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Huawei's assistance enabled Ugandan authorities to disrupt Wine's plans for concerts they feared would turn into political rallies.
"It is totally false to claim Huawei helped African governments among them Uganda spy on its political opponents," Ugandan presidential spokesman Don Wanyama told AFP. "Why spy on Bobi Wine?"
Huawei is the world's number two smartphone producer and is considered the global leader in fifth-generation or 5G equipment.
But it is facing pushback in some Western markets over suspicions that it provides a backdoor for Chinese intelligence services.
There are also concerns that Huawei's involvement in the development of foreign 5G networks could enable Beijing to gain access to critical infrastructure.
It has been blacklisted by US President Donald Trump purportedly because of espionage concerns.
Speaking to AFP Friday, Wanyama said claims that Uganda had received spying help from Huawei represented "a continuation of the trade war between China and US".
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