Uganda’s military chief said on Friday that authorities had detained 2,000 opposition supporters, killed 30 and were hunting for more following a disputed presidential election in which his father Yoweri Museveni, won a seventh term. Museveni, 81, who has led the East African nation for nearly four decades, was declared to have resoundingly defeated Bobi Wine, leader of the opposition National Unity Platform (NUP) party in the January 15 vote, held during an internet blackout. Wine, a former musician whose legal name is Robert Kyagulanyi, rejected the election result, alleging widespread irregularities including ballot stuffing, and went into hiding.
In a series of overnight social media posts, military chief Muhoozi Kainerugaba, Museveni’s son, gave the first details of the arrests and killings of NUP supporters, describing them as hooligans and terrorists. Reacting to the situation in Uganda after the election, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed concern over the arrests and violent incidents involving opposition figures and supporters, spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said late on Thursday. Uganda’s opposition parties and rights activists say some of those arrested are held in unofficial detention centres where some are tortured.
In a series of overnight social media posts, military chief Muhoozi Kainerugaba, Museveni’s son, gave the first details of the arrests and killings of NUP supporters, describing them as hooligans and terrorists. Reacting to the situation in Uganda after the election, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed concern over the arrests and violent incidents involving opposition figures and supporters, spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said late on Thursday. Uganda’s opposition parties and rights activists say some of those arrested are held in unofficial detention centres where some are tortured.
