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Uganda’s opposition leader, Bobi Wine, has gone into hiding following last week’s presidential election, insisting he is “not a criminal.” Speaking to AFP on Wednesday, Wine, 43, condemned the vote, which saw President Yoweri Museveni secure a seventh term in office.
Wine, a former singer turned politician whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi, said he escaped a police raid on his home last Saturday and has remained in undisclosed locations since then. He described being constantly on the move while receiving support from ordinary citizens who are “housing and protecting” him.
“I’m a presidential candidate and it’s not a crime to run against his father,” Wine said, responding to threats from Museveni’s son and army chief, Muhoozi Kainerugaba, who on Tuesday warned on social media that Wine would be hunted down.
In his post, Kainerugaba, 51, claimed that his forces had “killed 22 NUP terrorists since last week” in reference to Wine’s National Unity Platform (NUP) party, adding, “I’m praying the 23rd is Kabobi,” a nickname for Wine.
Wine, who came second in the election, called the vote “blatant theft” and said his party is focused on survival under the current political climate. “In a dictatorship, you don’t draw a strategy, but you respond to the kind of oppression,” he said.
Last week’s election was marked by violence, arrests, abductions, and an internet shutdown. African observers warned that these measures had “instilled fear” among voters. Museveni, 81, who won with 72 percent of the vote, has described the opposition as “terrorists” attempting to overturn the results through violence.
