Soldiers and police on Monday cordoned off the headquarters of Uganda’s largest opposition party, the National Unity Platform (NUP), in a move described by police as a precautionary measure ahead of planned anti-government protests on Tuesday. Robert Kyagulanyi, popularly known as Bobi Wine, reported on social media that security personnel surrounded the NUP headquarters in Kampala, preventing entry and exit.
Wine, a prominent political figure and former pop star, claimed that several NUP leaders were “violently arrested” and shared images of military personnel and army trucks at the scene. “The military and police have raided and surrounded the National Unity Platform offices,” he wrote. “The cowardly regime is so afraid of the people because they know how much they have wronged them!”
Wine, 42, has emerged as a significant challenger to President Yoweri Museveni, 79, who has ruled Uganda since 1986. Young Ugandans, who have led recent protests, plan to march to parliament on Tuesday despite a ban on the demonstration. The protest aims to condemn alleged corruption and human rights abuses under Museveni’s long-standing rule. Wine clarified that while his party was not organising the protests, they supported the demonstrators’ cause.
Police spokesperson Kituuma Rusoke stated that security forces acted to prevent NUP’s “mobilisation for the protest.” “We have been monitoring this. Their activities raised a red flag and we took precautionary measures,” he said. Opposition leaders and human rights activists accuse Museveni of failing to address widespread embezzlement and misuse of government funds, often protecting top officials who are politically loyal or related to him. Museveni has repeatedly denied tolerating corruption and insists that those found guilty, including lawmakers and ministers, are prosecuted.
In a speech on Saturday, Museveni warned Ugandan youth against participating in the planned protests, suggesting they were influenced by foreign sponsors. “Some elements, some of them from the opposition, are always working with foreigners to foment chaos in Uganda – riots, illegal demonstrations, illegal and inconsiderate processions, etc. These people should check themselves or we shall have no alternative but to check them,” he said.
Melissa Enoch
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