The Ugandan government has rejected accusations of a sweeping crackdown on the opposition in the wake of the January 15 presidential election, insisting that only “troublemakers” and criminal elements have been arrested even as opposition leader Robert Kyagulanyi, popularly known as Bobi Wine, remains on the run.
Information Minister Chris Baryomunsi on Tuesday confirmed that arrests had taken place across the country but dismissed claims that security agencies are targeting political opponents.
“There are two categories of those arrested,One group wanted to cause violence simply because their candidate lost the election. The second category consists of criminal gangs mobilized to turn the election period into a launchpad for civil unrest.”, Baryomunsi said.
His remarks come as security forces intensify operations against opposition supporters in the days following the disputed polls.
President Yoweri Museveni was declared winner with 71% of the vote, while Bobi Wine officially received 24%. The opposition leader has since rejected the results as fraudulent and has gone into hiding, accusing state forces of hunting down his supporters.
The Electoral Commission has not responded to the fraud claims.
Tensions escalated further after Uganda’s army chief, Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba who is also Museveni’s son announced that security forces had killed 22 opposition “terrorists” during post-election unrest.
Bobi Wine, however, says the violence has been far deadlier. On social media, he claimed more than 100 of his supporters were killed, though he did not present evidence.
Meanwhile, senior figures in Bobi Wine’s led party National Unity Platform say several party leaders are missing or under arrest.
NUP Secretary-General David Lewis Rubongoya warned that a wave of enforced disappearances is unfolding nationwide.
In his victory address, Museveni branded the NUP a “terrorist organisation,” accusing it of plotting to overturn election results through violence.
As arrests continue and the opposition leadership scatters into hiding, Uganda’s post-election crisis shows no sign of cooling with the whereabouts of Bobi Wine now at the centre of growing domestic and international concern.