Uganda opposition party says army seized its candidate

Ugandan opposition leader Bobi Wine was allegedly removed from his home by soldiers and flown to an undisclosed location, his party said, as early results showed President Yoweri Museveni on course for a sweeping reelection.

Ugandan opposition politician Bobi Wine’s National Unity Platform (NUP) said on Friday that an army helicopter landed at his compound in the capital Kampala and that soldiers forced him onto the aircraft before taking off to an unknown destination. The party made the claim in a post on X.

Reuters could not immediately verify the account, and some senior NUP officials said they themselves had no direct confirmation of Wine’s whereabouts. Government and military spokespeople did not respond to requests for comment.

Wine has accused the authorities of large-scale fraud in Thursday’s election, which took place under an internet blackout, and urged supporters to protest. His party had already said he was under effective house arrest at his home in Kampala.

The vote is seen as a key test of 81-year-old Museveni’s grip on power and his ability to keep Uganda stable after unrest in neighbouring Tanzania and Kenya. Museveni, who has led the country since 1986, held a commanding lead on Friday evening with nearly 74% of the vote, according to the electoral commission, while Wine trailed with 23%.

Although the polling day itself passed largely peacefully after a campaign marked by clashes at opposition rallies and what the United Nations described as widespread repression and intimidation, deadly violence was reported overnight in the town of Butambala, about 55 km southwest of Kampala.

Local police spokesperson Lydia Tumushabe said machete-wielding opposition “goons” allegedly organised by local MP Muwanga Kivumbi attacked a police station and vote-tallying centre. She said security forces opened fire in self-defence and that 25 people were arrested.

Kivumbi rejected that account, telling Reuters that security forces killed 10 people inside his own house at around 3 a.m., where supporters were gathered in a garage awaiting the announcement of results for his parliamentary race. He said officers had earlier dispersed crowds outside and then forced their way into the property, breaking down the front door before shooting into the garage.

“They killed 10 people inside my house,” he said, calling the incident a “massacre” and denying there had been clashes between his supporters and the security forces.

Tumushabe said she was not aware of any incident at Kivumbi’s home, which she said is located near the police station. Reuters was not able to independently confirm the competing accounts of the Butambala violence or the circumstances of Wine’s reported removal from his residence.

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