Bobi Wine: Military raided my home, but I managed to escape

Ugandan opposition leader Robert Kyagulanyi has claimed that military and police forces raided his home in Magere overnight, but he managed to flee, allaying widespread fears that he had been taken captive and was being held in an unknown location.

In a statement, Kyagulanyi, popularly known as Bobi Wine, described the night operation as a coordinated security raid involving power cuts, interference with CCTV cameras and helicopters hovering above his residence.

“Last night was very difficult at our home in Magere. The military and police raided us. They switched off power and cut off some of our CCTV cameras. There were helicopters hovering over,” he said.

He said he managed to escape and is currently not at home, although his wife and other family members remain confined at the residence.

“I want to confirm that I managed to escape from them. Currently, I am not at home, although my wife and other family members remain under house arrest,” he said, adding that security forces were “looking for me everywhere”.

Ugandan police dismissed the reports, terming the claims misleading.

Assistant Commissioner of Police Kituuma Rusoke said the allegations were “deceitful and inciteful allegations intended to depict the security agencies as brutal and violators of the rights of a political candidate”.

In a seperate statement, the government also pushed back strongly on the abduction narrative and condemned international media coverage of the incident.

In a statement issued from Washington DC, Uganda’s Ambassador to the United States Robie Kakonge criticised what she described as fabricated reports suggesting the military was involved in a covert operation.

“Reports alleging that a UPDF helicopter landed at the residence of Hon Robert Kyagulanyi during the night and removed him to an unknown location are false. Completely and unequivocally so,” Kakonge said.

“The Embassy has verified the facts with the relevant authorities. No helicopter landed. No such operation occurred. Hon. Kyagulanyi is not under arrest. The story is a fabrication.”

Kyagulanyi attributed widespread speculation about his whereabouts to a nationwide internet shutdown and the heavy security presence at his home, which he said led neighbours to believe he had been abducted.

"Given the commotion that happened at our house at night, and given that no one is allowed to access the house, our neighbours concluded that they had succeeded in abducting us and spread the news," he said.

He accompanied his statement with photos of the alleged military raid, alleging that some were taken Friday night and others Saturday morning.

The National Unity Platform (NUP) leader rejected the presidential election results being announced by the Electoral Commission, accusing authorities of ballot stuffing, military interference in the electoral process and the detention of opposition leaders and polling officials.

“I reiterate our complete rejection of the fake results Byabakama is reading,” Kyagulanyi said, insisting the outcome had “zero backing”.

He further condemned the killing of citizens protesting the conduct of the election, saying Ugandans had a constitutional right to demonstrate peacefully in defence of their democratic choice.

The competing accounts come amid growing domestic and international scrutiny of Uganda’s electoral process and the security response following the vote, with tensions remaining high as official results continue to be announced.