The Electoral Commission of Uganda has issued a public advisory cautioning Ugandans against the rising spread of staged and fabricated content related to the 2026 General Elections.
In a statement released on Monday, January 19, 2026, the Commission warned that unscrupulous individuals are creating and circulating manipulated videos, photographs and other misleading materials on social media platforms.
”Beware of staged or manufactured fabrications of videos, photographs or any other content about the ongoing elections that are being created and circulated by unscrupulous people on social media platforms,” the statement said in part.
The Commission urged citizens to verify information from official and credible sources before sharing it, stressing that forwarding unverified content contributes to the spread of misinformation.
”Verify before sharing anything you see online to avoid misleading and misinforming people and falling victim to computer misuse offences,” the advisory added.
This comes shortly after Uganda Police Spokesperson Kituuma Rusoke dismissed abduction claims by Uganda’s opposition leader, Robert Kyagulanyi, famously known as Bobi Wine, as the country conducted its general election on Thursday, January 15, 2026.
The National Unity Party had reported that Bobi was abducted from his Magere residence during a late-night operation involving a military helicopter on Friday, January 16, 2026. During a phone call interview with Ugandan media, Spokesperson Barbie Kyagulanyi recounted the frightening raid that occurred on Friday night.
“Men are attempting to get into the house. They want to break into the house. They started by removing our cameras, then they brought ladders on the sides, and they have taken out our electricity,” she narrated.
“They have put a loudspeaker outside, and they have a helicopter above. They have a big light on the helicopter that is helping them,” she continued.
Being the closest challenger of the incumbent Yoweri Museveni, who has won his seventh term in the presidential race, the NUP leader took to his social media pages on Friday, January 16, 2026, claiming that the Ugandan military had invaded his compound shortly after he cast his ballot, putting him and his family under house arrest.
Rusoke further added that Bobi Wine’s remarks are deceitful and meant to depict the Ugandan Police Forces as violators of the rights of political candidates.
”The allegations are being made that Mr Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, 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. What I would like to say is that these are deceitful and insightful allegations intended to depict the security agencies of Uganda as brutal and violators of the rights of a political candidate. They are untrue and unfounded,” the spokesperson said.
