Thu 15 October 2020:
Ugandan security forces have detained presidential hopeful Bobi Wine on Wednesday during a raid of the campaign headquarters of his newly formed party, according to his lawyer.
Wine, a popular musician who is seeking Uganda’s presidency in elections set for 2021, said in a tweet that heavily armed police “besieged” his campaign headquarters” on Wednesday morning.
The military and police just raided our head office in Kamwokya. They have broken into offices and taken away valuable documents and other items. Some comrades have been injured. The partisanship of security agencies ahead of the election is stinking.
— BOBI WINE (@HEBobiwine) October 14, 2020
Bobi Wine, whose real name is Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, was meeting with other leaders of his National Unity Platform party when the police swooped in.
Bobi Wine’s lawyer Anthony Wameli said his client was seized on Wednesday at the Kampala offices of his opposition party, the National Unity Platform (NUP).
“The police and the army raided the office of NUP, sealed off the premises and all the roads leading to the place before detaining Bobi Wine and other party officials,” Wameli told the AFP news agency.
Our team has just finished assessing what has been stolen in broad daylight. Been informed that most of our forms with signatures for nominations have been taken away! They have also taken 23M ugx part of which was meant to facilitate our MP candidates with nomination fees. pic.twitter.com/87U0Zh5AJT
— BOBI WINE (@HEBobiwine) October 14, 2020
“This is despicable and an attack on democracy by the partisan police and the army,” he said. The reason for the raid was unknown but “politics cannot be ruled out”, he added.
Wine, who has been arrested a couple of times in recent years, keeps calling for President Yoweri Museveni to retire.
In a tweet on Wednesday, the spokesperson of Uganda’s army said security forces sought to recover red berets and other military-style articles that were being kept at Bobi Wine’s offices.
Due to continued iligal use of military and police stores and other military/police patented designs, a joint operation is on going to recover the same from the public. All in possession of such items are encouraged to voluntarily return them.
— Brig Gen Flavia Byekwaso (@UPDFspokespersn) October 14, 2020
Supporters of Bobi Wine are known to wear red berets, which authorities in Uganda claim are the preserve of the military.
Museveni, 76, has ruled Uganda since taking power by force in 1986 and has been accused of relying on the armed forces to rule indefinitely.
This year’s election should see Wine going after Museveni, who seeks another term, after managing to remove constitutional age limits on the presidency.
Museveni accuses Wine of encouraging young people to riot and has stated that people associated with Wine are ““a misguided group being used by some foreigners” to destabilise the country.
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