In 2016, power theft had become one of Uganda’s biggest energy challenges. Illegal connections caused outages, safety risks, and inflated costs for paying customers. For the country’s leading power distributor, the issue went beyond enforcement. Addressing this required changing how people thought about electricity, shifting it from a personal shortcut to a shared public resource. The campaign needed to educate, confront, and persuade while giving communities a reason to do the right thing.
Our task was to design a campaign that moved people from awareness to action. We built Wuuyo, a behaviour change initiative encouraging illegal users to take advantage of Umeme’s amnesty program, a 30-day window to legalise connections without penalties. The message focused on responsibility, safety, and fairness, while the storytelling made power theft a community issue, not just a company concern. By linking accountability with opportunity, the campaign inspired action, reduced theft, and strengthened trust in Uganda’s electricity system.
