Uganda has placed a total ban on imports of refurbished computers while Kenya has imposed a 25 percent tax on refurbished computers. Rwanda and Tanzania are still accepting refurbished computers for rural communities and schools.

The ban on used computers in Uganda has been criticized by organizations working with rural communities, which mostly earn less than a dollar a day and are not likely to afford a new PC.

"The worst-affected people will be the poor people and rural-based [people] who make up a big percentage of computer users in Uganda. These are people who cannot afford a brand-new computer. With this ban, it means that these people will not be able to access ICT at all," said Stone Atwine, managing director of BlissOne Media in Uganda.

In Uganda, a brand-new computer costs about 1 million Uganda shillings (US$470), while a good refurbished PC that can handle the needs of people in the communities goes for about 250,000 shillings ($119).

"People will resort to expensive clones at about UGX600,000 ($285), whose lifespan is typically 7 months," added Atwine in an e-mail interview. "What will happen here is rural people will be left behind by ICT trends and therefore development; used computers have helped so much in accelerating IT skills and people's lives in Uganda."