At least seven opposition supporters were killed overnight in disputed circumstances in Uganda as President Yoweri Museveni took a commanding early lead in presidential election results released on Friday.
Figures announced by the Electoral Commission showed Museveni, who has been in power since 1986, leading with 75% of the vote based on returns from around 60% of polling stations. Opposition leader Bobi Wine was second with 21%.
The opposition National Unity Platform (NUP) said its supporters were attacked by security forces at the home of opposition MP Muwanga Kivumbi in Butambala district, about 55 kilometres south-west of Kampala, as crowds gathered to follow early results.
Kivumbi told AFP that police and soldiers fired tear gas and then live ammunition at hundreds of people. “Ten were killed inside my house,” he said. Human rights activist Agather Atuhaire confirmed the account to Reuters.
Police strongly disputed the opposition’s version of events. Local police spokesperson Lydia Tumushabe said officers opened fire in self-defence after what she described as a group of NUP supporters attacked a police station and planned to overrun a vote tallying centre. She said they were armed with machetes, axes and boxes of matches, adding that at least seven people were killed.
The violence emerged amid an internet shutdown imposed earlier in the week, which has delayed reporting on election-related incidents. Uganda’s Communications Commission said the blackout was intended to prevent misinformation and incitement, a move criticised by the UN human rights office as “deeply worrying”.
Meanwhile, NUP said security forces had surrounded Bobi Wine’s home in Kampala’s Magere area, effectively placing him under house arrest. The party posted on X that officers had entered his compound and erected tents inside.
Police spokesperson Kituuma Rusoke told local broadcaster NBS that Wine was “a person of interest” as a presidential candidate and said the heavy security deployment was for his own protection.
Some journalists reported being blocked from accessing Wine’s home.
Electoral Commission chairperson Simon Byabakama said the internet shutdown had not affected vote tallying, as results were being transmitted through a private system. He said final presidential results were expected within 48 hours, before Saturday evening.
Ugandans voted on Thursday in a tense election following a campaign marked by violence, arrests and allegations of repression. Voting was delayed at many polling stations after ballot boxes arrived late and biometric voter verification machines malfunctioned, issues some observers linked to the network outage.
Wine, a 43-year-old pop star-turned-politician whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi, has alleged widespread fraud but has not presented documentary evidence. Authorities have not responded directly to the claims.
The UN human rights office warned last week that the election was taking place amid “widespread repression and intimidation”. Security forces have repeatedly been accused of targeting opposition supporters, allegations police deny.
Museveni, 81, is seeking a seventh term that would extend his four-decade rule. While six other candidates are on the ballot, analysts view the contest as effectively a two-horse race between Museveni and Wine.
The final election results are expected to be announced by Saturday afternoon, according to the electoral commission.