Security forces in Uganda have detained more than 300 supporters and officials from the party of opposition presidential candidate Bobi Wine since campaigning for a January election kicked off last month, his party’s spokesperson said on Tuesday.
Pop star-turned-politician Wine, whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi, is challenging 81-year-old President Yoweri Museveni for the second time after coming second in the last election in 2021.
Now Africa’s fourth longest-ruling leader, Museveni’s government has changed the constitution twice to remove age and term limits, allowing him to remain in office since 1986.
The arrests included scores detained this week in the capital Kampala, where Wine began campaigning on Monday, Joel Ssenyonyi, spokesperson for Wine’s party National Unity Platform (NUP), told Reuters.
“Over 300 have been detained since the campaigns started. The regime is in panic, they are resorting to arrests to deter and instil fear in our people,” Ssenyonyi said.
The majority of those detained are ordinary supporters but also include campaign coordinators, Wine’s aides and other officials, he said.
Police spokesperson Rusoke Kituuma did not respond to Reuters’ requests for comment.
At a rally in Kampala’s Kawempe area on Monday security forces used tear gas and water cannon to disperse a crowd of Wine’s supporters, video aired by local broadcaster NTV showed.
A video posted on Wine’s X account late on Monday also showed police using pepper spray on his supporters. A man in plain clothes who approached from the side of the security personnel was seen beating supporters using a cane.
At least 100 people were arrested on Monday and dozens more detained on Tuesday at another rally on the outskirts of Kampala, Ssenyonyi said.
Police said in a statement late on Monday that they had detained seven people after clashes with Wine’s supporters, accusing them of throwing stones and injuring seven officers.
“Security personnel responded by using public order measures to control rowdy crowds,” the statement said.
Wine says Museveni won the last election through ballot-stuffing, intimidation of voters, bribery and other rigging tactics. Ruling party officials have dismissed the accusation.
If he wins a new five-year term, Museveni will extend his rule in the East African country to nearly half a century.
