Ugandan opposition leader Bobi Wine says he has left the country after two months in hiding following January elections. Wine has alleged that the result, which kept President Yoweri Museveni in power, was fradulent.
Ugandan opposition leader Bobi Wine said on Saturday that he had left the country “for critical engagements outside Uganda” two months after disputing the outcome of January 15 elections that saw President Yoweri Museveni reconfirmed in office.
Wine, 44, whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi, had been in hiding following the vote and alleged in a video and online statement published on X that he had been searched for by the military.
What else did Wine say?
Wine, a pop star turned politician, did not say where or what the “critical engagements” were but said his exodus would be temporary.
“At the right time I will come back and continue with the cause,” he said, and thanked those who helped and supported him during his concealment.
He said that his deputy, Lina Zedriga, would take over the presidency of the National Unity Platform (NUP) party in his absence.
Wine on Saturday again maintained that Museveni had “rigged” the election and “usurped the will of the people.”
“Out of shame and lack of legitimacy, him and his son are searching for me everywhere,” he said. “And that’s why I’m leaving the country for a while.”
“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 continued.
Wine, who was already detained and tortured during 2021 elections, said he will return to Uganda “and let the regime do whatever they want to me in full view of the world.”
“After all, I have not committed any crime. Running for president is not a crime,” he said.
What have Uganda officials said?
Uganda’s government and military did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Wine’s message.
However, the country’s military chief, Muhoozi Kainerugaba, who is also Museveni’s son, has stated in social media posts that the military is looking for the opposition leader, even once writing on X in a since-deleted post that he wanted Wine dead.
He had also hailed the deaths of 30 opposition members and the arrest of some 2,000 of their supporters following the vote.
Museveni, 81, has ruled Uganda since 1986 and is now in his seventh term as president.
Opposition groups and rights organizations say his election wins came on the back of intimidation and violence, something the government has denied.
Edited by: Saim Dušan Inayatullah
DW News
