The Ugandan police has dismissed allegations that opposition presidential candidate Robert Kyagulanyi, popularly known as Bobi Wine, was abducted and taken to an unknown location.
According to the police, the claims circulating on social media platforms are ‘deceitful and insightful allegations intended to depict the security agencies of Uganda as brutal and violators of the rights of a political candidate.’
Addressing the media, a police spokesperson stated, “I would like to issue a statement on behalf of Uganda Police Force in respect to allegations that are making rounds on some media spaces, and they have also found their way to other communities that have access to social media platforms, especially outside our jurisdiction.”
“The allegations are being made that Mr Robert Kyagulanyi, who is a presidential candidate, has been arrested and taken to an unknown location. Some of these allegations are being paraded by his family members.”
He dismissed the claims as ‘untrue and unfounded,’ adding that they were designed to portray Uganda’s security agencies in a negative light.
The police statement comes after Bobi Wine’s political party, the National Unity Platform (NUP), announced on Friday that the opposition presidential candidate had been forcibly removed from his home and taken to an unknown destination in an army helicopter.
The announcement was made a day after Ugandans cast their ballots in a tense election that took place amid an internet blackout.
Earlier on January 16, the NUP reported that military and police forces had encircled Kyagulanyi’s residence, effectively confining him and his wife to their property.
“Regime security operatives deployed at the residence of President Kyagulanyi Ssentamu Robert have deliberately cut off electricity supply to the home and destroyed the electric fence along the perimeter. President Bobi Wine’s private security guards have been assaulted despite having committed no offense. With the residence now under complete darkness, these operatives are attempting to forcibly break into the house, raising grave concerns about their intentions,” the party stated in a social media post.
The party claimed that security officers had unlawfully jumped over the perimeter fence and erected tents within the compound, restricting the presidential candidate’s movements and communications.
On election day, Wine had raised multiple concerns about the electoral process, alleging widespread violations including complete internet shutdowns, massive ballot stuffing, abduction of polling officials, and systematic voting machine failures across the country.
“The world needs to know what is happening in Uganda on election day. The Internet is switched off. Massive ballot stuffing reported everywhere,” Wine stated on Thursday.
