Tension has escalated in Uganda’s fragile political space following explosive claims by Muhoozi Kainerugaba, the son of President Yoweri Museveni and Chief of Defence Forces, that dozens of opposition supporters were killed during the country’s just-concluded general elections.
Kainerugaba, in a controversial post on social media, asserted that 22 members of the opposition National Unity Platform (NUP) had been killed in the past week, ominously suggesting that the party’s leader, Robert Kyagulanyi, popularly known as Bobi Wine, was next in line. He referred to Wine derisively and described him as the “twenty-third”, a remark that has sparked widespread condemnation within and outside Uganda.
The comments, widely circulated online, are being interpreted as an open admission of lethal force against opposition elements at a time when the credibility of the electoral process is under intense scrutiny. President Museveni, 81, was declared winner of the disputed polls, securing a seventh term in office amid allegations of widespread irregularities, militarisation of the process and suppression of dissent.
The remarks came against the backdrop of heightened security operations targeting opposition figures. Bobi Wine disclosed that he narrowly escaped what he described as a coordinated military and police raid on his residence in Magere last Friday night. According to him, security operatives отключed electricity, disabled parts of his CCTV system and deployed helicopters over the area.
In a statement issued the following day, the opposition leader said he managed to evade arrest, though his wife and other family members remain under tight security watch. He added that the situation was compounded by a nationwide internet shutdown, which fuelled speculation about his whereabouts after reports emerged that he had been forcibly taken away.
Wine has since rejected the presidential election results in their entirety, branding them fraudulent and devoid of popular mandate. He accused electoral authorities and security agencies of ballot stuffing, intimidation, unlawful detention of party officials and violent repression of peaceful protests.
“We condemn the murder of numerous citizens who have attempted to peacefully demonstrate against this daylight robbery,” he said, insisting that Ugandans have a constitutional right to resist what he termed the subversion of their collective will.
Reports of violence against opposition affiliates have also surfaced in other parts of the country. In central Uganda, a lawmaker from the NUP alleged that security forces killed several of his campaign agents after storming his residence, a claim that has further deepened fears of a widening crackdown.
