Ugandan police on Saturday rejected claims by opposition leader Bobi Wine’s party that he had been arrested by soldiers, as President Yoweri Museveni moved closer to securing another decisive election victory.
Wine’s National Unity Platform said late Friday that an army helicopter had landed at his home in the capital, Kampala, and that soldiers had “forcibly taken him away to an unknown destination.”
National police spokesperson Kituuma Rusoke told a televised briefing that Wine was not in custody and remained at his residence. “He is not under arrest,” Rusoke said, adding that the opposition leader was free to move.
Wine and representatives of his party were not immediately available for comment.
The denial followed a tense election period marked by an internet shutdown and allegations of widespread fraud. Wine has accused authorities of manipulating Thursday’s vote and urged supporters to protest the results.
Earlier, his party said he had effectively been placed under house arrest, echoing similar restrictions imposed on him after the previous election in 2021.
The vote has been closely watched as a measure of Museveni’s grip on power after nearly four decades in office, amid concerns that unrest could mirror recent violence in neighboring Tanzania and Kenya.
According to provisional results released Saturday morning by the electoral commission, Museveni held nearly 72 percent of the vote, with more than 90 percent of polling stations counted. Wine trailed with about 24 percent.
Museveni, 81, has ruled Uganda since 1986. His long tenure has drawn criticism from rights groups, particularly over the treatment of political opponents.
While voting day itself passed largely without incident, tensions flared hours later in parts of the country.
In the early hours of Friday, violence erupted in Butambala, roughly 55 kilometers southwest of Kampala. Police and opposition figures offered sharply different accounts of what happened.
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Local police spokesperson Lydia Tumushabe said opposition supporters armed with machetes attacked a police station and a vote tallying center. She said security forces responded in self defense and arrested 25 people.
Muwanga Kivumbi, a member of parliament from the area, disputed that version. He told Reuters that at least 10 people were killed inside his home while waiting for parliamentary election results. “They killed 10 people inside my house,” Kivumbi said, adding that supporters had gathered to follow the count and celebrate his expected victory.
The United Nations has previously warned that Uganda’s election was taking place amid widespread repression and intimidation. With final results still pending, attention is likely to focus on whether further protests emerge and how security forces respond.
