KAMPALA, — Uganda’s opposition leader Robert Kyagulanyi, known as Bobi Wine, said hundreds of soldiers raided his home in Magere and assaulted his wife, Barbra Itungo Kyagulanyi, as tensions escalated after President Yoweri Museveni was declared winner of last week’s presidential election and Wine went into hiding.
In an account carried by international media, Kyagulanyi said the raid was triggered after she briefly switched on a phone believed to belong to her husband, prompting security forces to assume he was at home. She said he had left the device behind.
Kyagulanyi told reporters she was held at gunpoint and physically assaulted as armed men demanded access to the phone and information about Wine’s whereabouts. She alleged one attacker grabbed her by the hair, slammed her head against a pole and forced her to the ground while others pinned her down and demanded a password.
Wine wrote on X that soldiers looted the home and “strangled” and insulted his wife while pressing her to disclose his location. Uganda’s military spokesperson was not immediately reachable for comment in Reuters’ reporting on the incident.
The alleged assault comes amid a widening crackdown on Wine’s National Unity Platform (NUP) following the January 15 vote. Museveni, 81, was declared the winner with 71.6% of the vote, compared with Wine’s 24%, according to Reuters. Wine has rejected the results as fraudulent, citing ballot irregularities, and observers reported an internet blackout and heavy security presence during the election period.
Museveni’s son, Muhoozi Kainerugaba, who heads the military, has issued threats against Wine and claimed security forces have detained more than 2,000 opposition supporters and killed 30 since the election — assertions that have heightened international concern about reprisals and accountability.
Separately, Ugandan police detained NUP deputy president Muwanga Kivumbi, alleging involvement in election-related violence in his constituency that left at least seven people dead, according to Reuters and AP reporting.
The U.N. Secretary-General has said he is following events with concern, as pressure mounts on Uganda’s authorities to ensure due process and protect political rights amid a deteriorating security and human-rights environment.
