KAMPALA, Uganda – Ugandan opposition politician Bobi Wine said that he has left the country after being in hiding for months following the country’s disputed presidential election earlier this year.
Bobi Wine, whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi, made the announcement in a brief statement to his followers just hours after exiting Uganda in secrecy. Bobi Wine said that he has been in hiding since the election earlier this year amid growing fears about his safety and a mounting crackdown against opposition figures.
Bobi Wine, 44, who has long been one of the main rivals of President Yoweri Museveni who has been in power since 1986, entered politics in 2017, winning a seat in the country’s parliament. In a bid to unseat President Museveni, who ruled Uganda for 35 years before the election, Bobi Wine launched a political party and ran for the country’s presidency in the election held in January.
Wine claimed that he went into hiding shortly after the presidential election in January 2021, saying that the election was rigged. The Ugandan government and electoral commission however have repeatedly rejected these allegations, arguing that the election process fully complied with the law.
Supporters of the Ugandan opposition figure have said that security forces have been hunting for Bobi Wine since the election. Hence, Bobi Wine and his team has claimed to have moved Bobi Wine from house to house while operating an active communication channel between him and his allies/supporters through intermediaries or social media platforms.
The plight of the opposition figure also directly involves the son of President Museveni, General Muhoozi Kainerugaba who has recently gained traction as a powerful figure in Uganda’s political and security establishment. General Kainerugaba, who has long served as commander of Uganda’s Special Forces Command, has often used social media to issue inflammatory political messages including targeted remarks toward Bobi Wine.
General Muhoozi Kainerugaba has publicly belittled Bobi Wine on numerous occasions, and in January last year stated that he could easily defeat Bobi Wine if he decided to run for the presidency himself. Bobi Wine and his allies have repeatedly accused General Kainerugaba of using the military and online bullying in efforts to silence Museveni’s critics, but government officials have denied these accusations.
The feud between Bobi Wine and General Muhoozi became huge during and after the election period, when supporters of the opposition figure accused government security agencies connected to Museveni’s son of actively involved in monitoring opposition activists who were vocal in denouncing the outcome of the election.
However, General Kainerugaba has dismissed the accusations by stating that security personnel have always operated within the limits of the law and that they have been playing their roles in maintaining law and order in the country. Bobi Wine further alleged that government officials has detained dozens of his supporters and followers on several occasions after the election. Rights activists expressed concerns about the disappearance and detention of members of opposition movements. However, Ugandan authorities have maintained that no systematic human rights abuse had been committed against Museveni’s political rivals. Bobi Wine however said that the arrest had only occurred whenever individuals were suspected to be violating laws and legal rights of citizens.
Bobi Wine has not disclosed his current whereabouts although his political aides suggested that he intends to continue political struggle from abroad whilst maintaining close contact with supporters and opposition leaders back home in Uganda. Previously, Bobi Wine has stayed outside Uganda for several months after elections and politically sensitive confrontations. Bobi Wine has visited USA and EU countries in several occasions for meeting with foreign politicians and activists and discussing on human rights issues. His departure has come amid widespread anxiety and growing concern over the country’s leadership succession in Uganda amid ongoing speculation regarding Museveni’s son’s increased political clout in the East African country.
