Ugandan opposition leader Bobi Wine has accused the government of targeting police officers who had been assigned to his campaign, claiming nine officers were dismissed and arraigned before a police court over what authorities termed “neglect of duty.”
In a statement issued on Thursday, Wine said the officers were paraded before the Police Court and dismissed from the Uganda Police Force with disgrace.
According to him, the officers were accused of assisting him in allegedly escaping from his residence during a period of heightened security operations.
“The regime yesterday paraded before the Police Court nine of the police officers who were assigned to our campaign,” Wine said.
“They were all dismissed from the Uganda Police Force with disgrace. Their crime? ‘Neglect of Duty’. The regime claims that they assisted me in escaping from my own home.”
Wine, whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi, rejected the allegations and said the officers were no longer deployed at his home when security forces reportedly raided the residence.
“These professional police officers were withdrawn on 15th January, which was election day,” he said. “By the time I left my home on the 16th when the military raided, they were no longer on duty.”
The opposition leader claimed the disciplinary action against the officers was politically motivated and aimed at finding scapegoats after authorities allegedly failed to locate him for nearly two months.
“But now, they’re being hounded, persecuted, and punished because the regime cannot live with the embarrassment of not being able to locate me for two months,” Wine said. “They’re looking for anyone to blame.”
He further argued that the officers had been assigned to provide security and not to monitor his movements on behalf of the state.
“These officers were deployed to protect me and not to spy on me,” he said.
“But this is what Museveni has turned all institutions into. He expects them to do everything illegal, criminal, or immoral to sustain his criminal enterprise.”
Wine also claimed that two of the dismissed officers remained in detention after the court appearance.
“We understand that in addition to being dismissed, officer Kigenyi and another were taken back to detention at the police station at the Railway grounds and are still being interrogated,” he said.
The opposition leader said he and his supporters stand in solidarity with the affected officers.
“For now, we stand in solidarity with these officers, who, like many other Ugandans, have had to taste the wrath of a desperate regime in its evening,” Wine said.
Authorities in Uganda had not immediately responded to the allegations.
