Ugandan opposition chief Robert Kyagulanyi, popularly known as “Bobi Wine,” is urging the international community to continue monitoring post-election developments in the country amid accusations of arbitrary arrests, detentions, and alleged killings of opposition figures by the Museveni regime.
Wine, in a video message posted on his X account on January 24, 2026, from an undisclosed location, thanked the international community for the “voices they have raised” and encouraged Ugandans to “remain strong, smart, and creative.”
“These people are not as strong as they purport, and indeed they are not as smart as they are. They fail to find me for eight days. I also tell you that we must never give up. Uganda is our country, and we must fight and liberate it,” he said, an apparent reference to state efforts to locate him.
Wine also explained that he was currently in hiding and would resurface at an opportune time.
“I will resurface at an appropriate time to forward our struggle. In the meantime, I'm not home because I'm trying to keep safe. I'm trying to keep alive, and I want to keep communicating to you. We shall overcome,” he declared.
His statement comes hours after security forces in the country’s capital, Kampala, reportedly raided his home and harassed his family.
The National Unity Platform (NUP) leader said in the video that security forces had threatened his wife, Barbie Kyagulanyi, in an attempt to force her to reveal his whereabouts.
“They put my wife on gunpoint, demanding that she show them where I was. They even forced her to remove the passwords from her phone and our laptops, but she refused,” he claimed.
He further alleged that security personnel confiscated cash, important documents, and numerous electronic devices, including mobile phones, laptops, internet equipment, and surveillance systems.
“They took phones, laptops, chargers, our internet system, our CCTV system, and any electronic gadget they could lay their hands on,” the opposition leader said, describing what he termed a systematic looting of the household.
Wine, who came second in the January 15 election behind incumbent President Yoweri Museveni, described the raid on his home as an act of cowardice by the regime.
“These and many things that Museveni's regime is doing through his son and his other people are not signs of strength. These are signs of weakness. If Museveni claims that he won the election, why is he panicking? Why is he doing all manner of terrible things? Why is he harassing people? Why is he harassing me and my family? Those are signs of shame,” he said.
Meanwhile, the chairman of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Jim Risch, is calling on President Donald Trump to impose sanctions on General Muhoozi Kainerugaba following reports of extreme violence during Uganda’s recently concluded 2026 General Elections.
Risch, in a statement released on Friday, demanded a total reassessment of security ties due to what he described as deteriorating human rights conditions in the country.
“I applaud how the Trump Administration is pursuing commercial and security gains in the region, but I’m concerned this will be increasingly difficult to do given the current trajectory. As with Tanzania, the administration should reassess the U.S. security relationship with Uganda, beginning with a review of whether sanctions are warranted under existing authorities against specific actors, including General Muhoozi Kainerugaba,” said Senator Jim Risch.
General Muhoozi sparked international outrage after claiming responsibility for the killing of 22 National Unity Platform (NUP) supporters, describing the opposition members as terrorists in a chilling statement.
“We will kill on sight all the NUP so-called foot soldiers. Until Mzee says otherwise. We have killed 22 NUP terrorists since last week. I'm praying the 23rd is Kabobi.,” wrote Muhoozi.
