Uganda’s opposition leader ‘taken by army’ as Museveni nears re-election

Original article by Carlos Mureithi in Nairobi and agencies

The Ugandan opposition leader Bobi Wine was taken from his house and brought to an unknown location on Friday, his party said as President Yoweri Museveni closed in on a landslide re-election.

Wine’s National Unity Platform party said on Friday evening in a post on X that an army helicopter had landed in his compound in the capital, Kampala, and “forcibly taken him away to an unknown destination”.

The claim could not be immediately verified, and some senior party officials said they did not have confirmation. Spokespeople for Uganda’s government and military did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Reuters.

Wine has alleged mass fraud during Thursday’s election, which was held under an internet blackout, and called on supporters to protest. His party said on Thursday he had been placed under effective house arrest.

A senior member of the Ugandan opposition earlier said security forces stormed his house early on Friday morning and shot dead 10 members of his campaign team.

The NUP’s Muwanga Kivumbi told Reuters the incident happened at about 3am local time when security forces “broke the front door and began shooting” inside a garage where the people were waiting for the results of the election for his parliamentary seat to be announced. “It was a massacre,” he said.

Lydia Tumushabe, a local police spokesperson, said she was unaware of an incident at Kivumbi’s house, which she said was close to the police station.

She said machete-wielding opposition “goons” organised by Kivumbi had attacked a police station and vote-tallying centre, forcing security personnel to shoot in self-defence.

Tumushabe told Agence France-Presse that “an unspecified number” of people had been “put out of action” and that 25 others had been arrested.

Kivumbi said security forces had earlier dispersed crowds outside but disputed the police’s assertion that the deaths occurred during clashes between the two sides.

He said he was “emotionally broken” by the attack, which occurred after hundreds of his supporters had gathered at his house after voting ended.

Many fled as security forces stormed the compound, but officers fired through the door of the garage, where 10 campaign agents were hiding, his wife, Zahara Nampewo, a law professor, said.

“I was very shaken personally,” she said. “Seeing fresh bodies. I mean, that is something that cannot easily go away.”

The army later came to take away the bodies, the couple said.

Wine condemned the incident and called on Ugandans to respond. “The criminal regime in its evening, has gone insane. This insanity will have to be met with RESISTANCE,” he posted on X.

Wine has alleged mass fraud during the election, which was held under an internet blackout that authorities said was needed to prevent “misinformation”, and he called on supporters to protest.

Late on Thursday, his party wrote on X that the military and police had surrounded his house in Kampala, “effectively placing him under house arrest”.

Kituuma Rusoke, a national police spokesperson, said he was not aware of Wine being placed under house arrest.

Wine, 43, whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi, has emerged as the main challenger to Museveni in recent years. The former singer styles himself the “ghetto president” after the informal settlements of Kampala where he grew up.

After a campaign marred by clashes at opposition rallies and what the UN said was widespread repression and intimidation, voting passed peacefully on Thursday.

Analysts have long viewed the election’s outcome as a formality. Museveni, a former guerrilla fighter who seized power in 1986, has total control over the state and security apparatus and has ruthlessly crushed any challenger during his rule. He told reporters after casting his ballot on Thursday that he expected to win with 80% of the vote if there was “no cheating”.

As of Friday evening, Museveni held a commanding lead with nearly 74% of the vote, the electoral commission said. Wine trailed with 23% and the remaining votes were split among six other candidates. Final results are due by 0200 GMT on Saturday.

Reuters and Agence France-Presse contributed to this report