Ugandan authorities have dismissed claims spreading online that opposition leader Robert Kyagulanyi, widely known as Bobi Wine, was taken from his home overnight and moved to an undisclosed location.
Police said the reports, which circulated widely on social media, were false and misleading. Authorities added that the claims had caused unnecessary alarm and confusion among the public.
In a video statement issued on Saturday, a police spokesperson said the force had decided to address the matter after the allegations gained traction across different online platforms.
“I would like to issue a statement on behalf of the Uganda Police Force in respect to allegations that are making rounds on some media spaces,” the spokesperson said.
“They have also found their way to other communities that have access to social media platforms, especially outside our jurisdiction.”
The spokesperson rejected suggestions that the leader of the National Unity Platform had been arrested or abducted, saying the information being shared was not true.
“The allegations are being made that Mr Kyagulanyi, who is a presidential candidate, has been arrested and taken to an unknown location,” he said.
“Some of these allegations are being paraded by his family members.”
Police maintained that the reports were aimed at portraying the country’s security agencies as abusive during a sensitive political period.
“What I would like to say is these are deceitful and inciteful allegations intended to depict the security agencies of Uganda as brutal and violators of the rights of a political candidate,” he added.
“They are untrue and unfounded.”
Authorities did not give further details about Kyagulanyi’s location or the security measures around him at the time of the statement.
Kyagulanyi has previously accused security agencies of harassment and intimidation, particularly during election periods, allegations that the government has repeatedly denied.
According to reports, Kyagulanyi’s son said both his parents had been seized by the military, a claim that added to public concern.
Kyagulanyi had earlier said he was under house arrest, claiming security officers had surrounded his home after he alleged irregularities during Thursday’s election.
At the time, police spokesperson Kituuma Rusoke told local broadcaster NBS that Kyagulanyi, as a presidential candidate, was “a person of interest”, adding that the heavy security presence at his residence was meant to protect him.
As vote counting continued on Friday, President Yoweri Museveni was leading comfortably, with the Electoral Commission saying he had secured 73.7 percent support compared to Kyagulanyi’s 22.7 percent, with close to 81 percent of the votes counted.
The final results were expected at around 4pm local time in Kampala on Saturday.
The election campaign had been marked by clashes at opposition rallies and arrests of opposition supporters, though voting on Thursday passed peacefully.
However, violence later broke out overnight in the town of Butambala, about 55 kilometres southwest of Kampala, where at least seven people were killed.
