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Ugandan opposition figure Bobi Wine said on Saturday that his wife was taken to the hospital after soldiers held her at gunpoint and strangled her during a raid on their home.
Wine, whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi, said in a post on X that hundreds of soldiers stormed his house while he was away.
He said the soldiers looted the property and assaulted his wife as they demanded to know his location.
“Hundreds of soldiers descended on our home in Magere last night,” Wine wrote. “Most were dressed in Special Forces Command uniforms, while others were in regular army uniforms and plain clothes.”
He alleged that the soldiers forced their way into the house, damaging doors, windows, and walls, and that some of them appeared to be drunk.
“They put my wife at gunpoint, asking her to reveal my whereabouts,” he said.
Wine added that the soldiers seized his wife’s phone and ordered her to unlock it. When she refused, he said they strangled and insulted her.
“They grabbed my wife’s phone, forced her to sit down, and ordered her to remove her password. She refused. They strangled her and insulted her.
“They forcefully removed her blouse and took pictures! Speaking Runyakore, they asked why she would get married to a muganda, and why we would dare challenge Museveni.
“They beat up our askari and house maid. They ordered the askari to show them where the basement is, where I was hiding. These criminals asked where my children were!”
Wine said his wife was rushed to the hospital and remains admitted, receiving treatment for physical and psychological injuries.
“My wife was rushed to hospital, where she remains admitted – dealing with all the physical and psychological trauma,” he said, adding that despite the incident, “we remain firm in our belief that Uganda will be free.”
Wine has been in hiding since the January 15 presidential election, which he says was rigged. President Yoweri Museveni, 81, was declared the winner with 71.65 percent of the vote, compared with 24.72 percent for Wine. Museveni was re-elected for a seventh term.
Election observers and rights groups criticised the vote, citing the arrest of opposition members, violence, and an internet shutdown that lasted several days.
Wine’s lawyer, Robert Amsterdam, called on the United Nations and the international community to demand guarantees for his client’s safety.
“In light of these reckless statements, we urgently call on the international community, including the United Nations, to demand immediate, verifiable guarantees of Mr. Wine’s safety and ensure he can return to his family without harm,” said Amsterdam.
“Mr. Wine has committed no crime. His only offence is exposing, once again, the brutal and dictatorial nature of President Museveni’s rule, through peaceful political opposition and the exercise of fundamental rights,” Amsterdam added.
The European Union has expressed concern, saying, “We regret pre- and post-electoral violence and threats, particularly against opposition leader Robert Kyagulanyi.”
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he was “following with concern the post-election situation in Uganda, including reports of arrests, detentions and violent incidents involving opposition figures and supporters”.
