Uganda’s Opposition Leader Bobi Wine Reportedly Seized in Army Helicopter Operation

Uganda’s main opposition party, the National Unity Platform (NUP), says its leader, Robert Kyagulanyi, popularly known as Bobi Wine, has been forcibly removed from his residence by the military.

In a statement posted on X on Friday, the party said an army helicopter landed within Kyagulanyi’s compound before soldiers took him away to an undisclosed location. According to the NUP, the operation involved force, with the opposition leader’s private security personnel allegedly assaulted during the incident.

The development comes as early election results released by the Electoral Commission indicate a decisive lead for incumbent President Yoweri Museveni, who is reported to have secured 75.38 percent of the vote. Bobi Wine, his closest rival, is trailing with 20.71 percent, while the remaining votes are shared among other candidates.

The opposition has also raised alarm over alleged post-election violence. The NUP claims that at least ten of its supporters were killed between Thursday and Friday in Butambala district, southwest of the capital Kampala, during clashes involving security forces.

Witnesses and party officials accuse the army and police of using excessive force, a claim the government has rejected. Ugandan authorities say security personnel were responding to attacks and have not confirmed any official casualty figures.

The reported arrest and allegations of violence have further heightened tensions in the country, as Uganda awaits the final outcome of a closely watched election.

President Museveni, who has been in power since 1986, is seeking to extend his more than four-decade rule, a prospect that has sharply divided the nation between continuity and calls for political change.