Politics

After Uganda’s President Won A Sixth Term, Opposition Leader Bobi Wine Has Been Put Under House Arrest

Bobi Wine has been under house arrest for more than a week following the contentious re-election of incumbent president Yoweri Museveni, who has ruled the country for 35 years.

Kassy Cho

Kassy Cho

— 3 min read
After Uganda’s President Won A Sixth Term, Opposition Leader Bobi Wine Has Been Put Under House Arrest

Bobi Wine, Uganda’s main opposition leader, has been under house arrest for more than a week following the contentious re-election on Jan. 14 of incumbent president Yoweri Museveni, who has ruled the country for 35 years.

Security forces surrounded and sieged Wine’s house on Friday Jan. 15, as Uganda’s electoral commission released partial results that showed 76-year-old Museveni in the lead. Museveni was later declared the winner for a record sixth term with almost 59% of the total votes.

Wine, a 38-year-old musician turned politician, had posed the “most potent” challenge to Museveni in years, the New York Times reported. He has disputed the results and said that the election was unfair, an allegation backed by independent international observers, according to the Times.

Ugandan security forces are seen in the background outside Bobi Wine’s property on January 15, 2021 in Kampala, Uganda. (Photo by Luke Dray/Getty Images)

He was arrested by security forces several times, including on the day he filed for his candidacy in November, charged with violating COVID-19 guidelines. His arrest and the arrest of other opposition figures set off nationwide protests that left more than 50 people dead and hundreds arrested, as security forces dispersed the demonstrations, according to the New York Times. It was Uganda’s worst unrest in a decade, the Guardian reported.

KAMPALA, UGANDA – JANUARY 15: Bobi Wine poses for a portrait as security forces surround his home on January 15, 2021 in Kampala, Uganda. Wine alleged that the forces beat a member of his staff shortly before the media arrived. A uniformed solider also pointed a cocked rifle at members of the media. Pop singer turned politician Bobi Wine is challenging sitting President Yoweri Museveni who is seeking his sixth term in office after 35 years in power. (Photo by Luke Dray/Getty Images)

In January, just days before the election, Wine was dragged out of his car while speaking at an online news conference. He filed a petition at the International Criminal Court, urging it to investigate human rights violations that had allegedly occurred in the run-up to the election.

Soldiers stand next to a wall of the neigbours of presidential candidate Bobi Wine, in Magere, Uganda, on January 15, 2021, a day after the country’s presidential elections. (Photo by YASUYOSHI CHIBA/AFP via Getty Images)

The government instituted an internet shutdown just days before the election. Wine and his wife Barbara are still under house arrest as of Saturday Jan. 23. He told CNN that Ugandan High Court judges would be visiting them on Monday and that his wife’s 18-month-old niece who was in their house with them when security forces took over has since been safely evacuated.

The European Union, other countries and human rights organizations have called for an investigation into the alleged violence and abuse in the lead up to the election.

Sissi Yi Hu contributed to this article.

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