KAMPALA – On Thursday, Uganda’s prominent opposition leader, Bobi Wine, was compelled into a vehicle by security agents after disembarking from a plane following a trip abroad, as reported by his party.
Wine, widely considered President Yoweri Museveni‘s most formidable political challenger, was escorted away from the plane at Entebbe, with an associate shouting, “Where are you taking him?”
This incident was captured in a video posted on social media by his party.
It seems that this action was taken to prevent a public spectacle, following the police’s announcement on Wednesday that anyone attempting to welcome Wine on the streets would be arrested.
This came after Wine’s party called for a million-strong march.
Police spokesperson Patrick Onyango confirmed that security agencies accompanied Wine to his residence in Kasangati, a town located approximately 50 km (30 miles) north of Entebbe, near the capital Kampala.
In the 2021 election, Wine, a popular musician known by his legal name, Robert Kyagulanyi, finished as the runner-up to the 79-year-old Museveni, alleging widespread fraud in the election.
Museveni has been in power in Uganda since 1986. His administration has faced accusations from opponents and human rights activists of suppressing the opposition, an allegation the president denies.
Wine later posted on the messaging platform X that military and police forces had surrounded his house, effectively placing him under house arrest.
However, Onyango refuted this, stating that Wine was not under house arrest and that the heightened security presence at his residence was for “general security” purposes.
Wine has been detained on multiple occasions in the past while leading protests, which were often dispersed using tear gas, rubber bullets, and physical force.
The lead-up to the last presidential election in November 2020 saw violent protests resulting in the deaths of at least 54 people.
