Ugandan opposition figure, Bobi Wine was forcibly removed from his residence on Friday and flown away in a military helicopter, his political party has said, barely 24 hours after a general election overshadowed by violence and an internet shutdown.
President Yoweri Museveni is seeking to extend his nearly four decades in power following a vote widely criticised for repression of opposition figures and severe restrictions on communication nationwide.
Bobi Wine, whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi, had earlier disclosed that he was effectively under house arrest after security operatives cordoned off his home.
However, late on Friday, the National Unity Platform, NUP, announced on X that soldiers landed a helicopter inside his compound and had “forcibly taken him away to an unknown destination.”
The party also alleged that Wine’s personal security team was “violently assaulted” during the operation.
As vote counting continued, Museveni was reported to be in a commanding position. Uganda’s Electoral Commission said the incumbent had secured 73.7 per cent of the vote, while Wine stood at 22.7 per cent, with about 81 per cent of ballots tallied. Final results were expected by 1300 GMT on Saturday.
Authorities enforced a nationwide internet blackout throughout the election period, drawing criticism from rights groups and observers.
Wine, 43, a former pop star turned politician, has emerged as Museveni’s most prominent challenger in recent years. He is popularly known as the “ghetto president,” a nickname linked to his upbringing in Kampala’s impoverished neighbourhoods.
Reports of violent incidents involving opposition supporters also emerged from other parts of the country.
Muwanga Kivumbi, a lawmaker representing the NUP in Uganda’s Butambala district, said that forces had killed 10 of his campaign agents during a raid on his home.
His wife, Zahara Nampewo, a law professor, said the victims had been hiding in their garage when troops opened fire through the door.
“After killing them, the military continued firing,” Kivumbi said. “And they ensured that they removed all the evidence of the dead. You only have a pool of blood that is left here.”
Ugandan police offered a contrasting account. Local police spokesperson Lydia Tumushabe said security operatives had intercepted “a group of NUP goons” who were allegedly planning to attack and burn down a vote tally centre and a police station.
“An unspecified number were put out of action,” Tumushabe confirmed, adding that 25 individuals had been arrested and charged with malicious damage to property.
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