Opposition Leader Bobi Wine Leaves Uganda After Weeks in Hiding

Ugandan opposition leader Robert Kyagulanyi, popularly known as Bobi Wine, has left the country to attend to what he described as “critical engagements” with the Ugandan diaspora and the international community.

Bobi Wine, who is also president of the National Unity Platform (NUP), made the announcement in a recorded video message posted on his official social media accounts following weeks of evading security forces after the disputed 2026 general election in Uganda.

“Fellow Ugandans and friends of Uganda all over the world, by the time you see this video, I will have left the country for some critical engagements outside Uganda,” Bobi Wine said. “And at the right time, I will come back and continue with the cause.”

In the video, Bobi Wine thanked supporters whom he said had helped him remain safe while security agencies searched for him.

The opposition leader contested the January 2026 presidential election against incumbent Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, who was declared the winner by Uganda’s Electoral Commission. Museveni’s victory extended his rule to more than four decades after first taking power in 1986.

However, Bobi Wine rejected the results, describing them as fraudulent. He said security agencies had been searching for him since shortly after the election.

“It’s laughable that for almost two months, the entire security apparatus of Uganda has invested billions of taxpayers’ money to search for me everywhere, but they failed to get me,” he said. “Why? Because the people have protected me.”

He also alleged that security forces had set up roadblocks and raided his home as well as the homes of some of his allies while searching for him.

He further alleged that during another raid days later, soldiers assaulted members of his family and damaged property at the residence. The NUP leader disclosed that his wife, Barbara Itungo Kyagulany and other family members had since left the country.

Following the developments, Bobi Wine said he would focus on lobbying international actors over the political situation in Uganda.

Meanwhile, he said leadership of the National Unity Platform would continue operating while he is away.

Despite rejecting the election results, Bobi Wine has not challenged them in the Supreme Court of Uganda, saying he has no confidence in the judiciary.

“After doing my work on the international platform, I will return to my country and let the regime do whatever they want to me in full view of the world,” he said.
“Running for president is not a crime.”

In 2021, Bobi Wine was placed under house arrest for 11 days following the presidential election. Although he later traveled abroad that year to promote a documentary about the vote, he returned to Uganda and continued his political activities before running again in the January 2026 election.

The re-election of President Museveni has generated sharply divided opinions among different groups. While there has been intense celebration among his supporters, his return to power for a seventh term has also drawn strong criticism from opposition groups and international observers.