Uganda’s post-election tension deepened on Friday as opposition leader, Bobi Wine, was forcefully taken from his home by security forces, heightening concerns over the conduct of elections held under heavy military presence and an internet blackout.
Amid several reports of violence and repression directed at opposition leaders and their supporters, the action was taken one day after voting in an election that President Yoweri Museveni hopes will prolong his tenure beyond forty years.
Museveni’s primary opponent, singer-turned-politician Bobi Wine, had previously declared that he was essentially under house arrest when police surrounded his home.
His party, the National Unity Platform (NUP), later said the situation escalated dramatically when soldiers arrived by air.
In a post on X late Friday, the party said an army helicopter landed inside Bobi Wine’s compound and “forcibly taken him away to an unknown destination.”
According to the statement, Bobi Wine’s private security officials were also “violently assaulted” during the operation.
Fears about the safety of opposition leaders and the process’s transparency grew as the nation awaited the final election results, which were anticipated at roughly 1300 GMT on Saturday.
Reports of the use of deadly force against opposition affiliates surfaced in other parts of central Uganda.
Muwanga Kivumbi, a parliamentarian from Wine’s party who represents the Butambala region, called AFP’s Nairobi headquarters to report that security troops had stormed his residence and killed ten of his campaign agents.
Kivumbi claims that when security guards opened fire, the agents were hiding in his garage. The deceased were shot after forces fired through the garage door, according to his wife, law professor Zahara Nampewo.
“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.”
As opposition groups accused authorities of employing security forces to stifle dissent and sway the outcome of the vote, the developments added to the growing accusations of state-backed violence and intimidation surrounding the poll.
According to Reuters, the Electoral Commission’s preliminary results showed Museveni leading with over 75% of the ballots counted from 59% of polling places.
Popular musician-turned-politician Bobi Wine, his closest opponent, received roughly 21% of the vote, with the remainder votes going to six other contenders.
Despite a campaign period characterised by violent clashes at opposition rallies and what the UN described as widespread harassment and intimidation, Thursday’s voting was mainly peaceful.
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