Police in Uganda have denied allegations that presidential candidate Bobi Wine was abducted on Friday evening as vote counting continues in the East African nation amid an internet blackout.
Wine’s party said a helicopter landed in the grounds of his house in the capital, Kampala, and forcibly took him to an unknown location.
Initially Wine’s son, Solomon Kampala, said both his parents had been seized, but later claimed his father “escaped” and his mother was still under house arrest, leading to confusion over the whereabouts of the opposition leader.
The latest electoral figures from Thursday’s vote give Museveni 72% of the vote, with Wine on 24%, based on returns from 94% of polling stations.
Speaking at a press conference on Saturday morning, police spokesman Kituuma Rusoke said the National Unity Platform (NUP) party leader was still in his home in Kampala and that it was Wine’s family members who were spreading “untrue” and “unfounded” claims.
He said Wine’s movements were restricted because his home was an area of “security interest”.
”We have controlled access to areas which are security hotspots,” Uganda’s Daily Monitor paper quoted him as saying.
”We cannot allow people to use some places to gather and cause chaos. All our actions are intended to prevent anybody from creating violence or destabilising our security,” he said.
On Friday, Wine had told his supporters to ignore the “fake results” that have been announced, saying the authorities have been “stealing the vote”. He did not provide any evidence to back up his claim and the authorities have not responded to his allegations.
Wine’s son Solomon Kampala, who has been posting updates on social media, admitted overnight he was getting conflicting reports about the security situation at his parents’ home.
”Amidst the raid my father was able to escape, my mother is still currently under [house] arrest, still nobody is allowed to enter the house,” he posted on X on Saturday morning.
Difficulty accessing the internet in the country has made it hard for people to verify information.
News that at least seven opposition supporters were killed in disputed circumstances in Butambala, about 55km (35 miles) south-west of the capital, on Thursday only emerged later on Friday.
The US embassy then issued an alert to its citizens because of reports the security forces were “using tear gas and
©️The scope news
