Trending 
Ugandan opposition figure Bobi Wine has gone into hiding following last week’s disputed presidential election.
Uganda re-elected President Yoweri Museveni on January 15 for a seventh term, a result the opposition has rejected as fraudulent.
The 81-year-old leader, who has ruled since 1986, was declared the winner with 71.65 percent of the vote, while Wine, whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi, received 24.72 percent, according to the electoral commission.
Election observers and rights groups criticised the process, citing an extended internet shutdown and widespread repression of opposition supporters.
Speaking to AFP by phone, Wine said he was forced into hiding after security forces raided his home, adding that his wife and family had been under house arrest for more than a week. He said he had been constantly moving but was being sheltered by ordinary citizens.
Wine rejected accusations by the government that opposition figures are terrorists, insisting that contesting an election is not a crime. He accused the military of interfering in the vote, committing abuses and threatening political opponents.
On Tuesday, President Museveni’s son and army chief, Muhoozi Kainerugaba, reportedly threatened Wine in a social media post, vowing to track him down and kill him.
Meanwhile, longtime Museveni critic Kizza Besigye was unable to participate in the election after he was abducted in November 2024 during a visit to Kenya and later reappeared in Uganda in detention. He has since been repeatedly denied bail while awaiting trial on charges related to an alleged plot to overthrow the government.
Besigye’s wife, Winnie Byanyima, head of the UN agency UNAIDS, warned that her husband’s health had deteriorated sharply and that his life was at risk.
In statements to Ugandan media and on social media, she said authorities appeared intent on letting him die in custody and called for his immediate transfer to a proper hospital where he could be treated by his personal doctor.
She said she was allowed to visit him and found him extremely weak, seated on a plastic chair in unsanitary conditions.
Besigye was expected in court on Wednesday, but his lawyer, Erias Lukwago, said he was too ill to attend.
Lukwago added that more than 600 people had been arrested nationwide following protests against Museveni’s re-election.
Human rights organisations and opposition groups argue that Besigye’s abduction and prosecution are directly linked to the election period.
Meanwhile, the United Nations had warned ahead of the vote that the polls were taking place in an atmosphere of intimidation and repression.
Asked about his next steps, Wine said opposition movements under authoritarian rule cannot rely on fixed strategies, adding that Ugandans will continue to push for democratic change. He called on the international community not to turn away.
