Ugandan police on Saturday denied allegations from the opposition that leader Bobi Wine had been arrested by soldiers, as President Yoweri Museveni moved closer to a landslide re-election.
Wine’s National Unity Platform (NUP) said late Friday an army helicopter landed at Wine’s residence in Kampala and that soldiers “forcibly took him away to an unknown destination.” Reuters could not immediately verify the claim.
National police spokesperson Kituuma Rusoke told a televised news conference that Wine was at his home and was free to move.
“He is not under arrest,” Rusoke said.
Wine and NUP representatives could not immediately be reached for comment.
Wine has alleged mass fraud in Thursday’s vote, which took place under an internet blackout, and called on supporters to protest. His party has also said he was placed under effective house arrest on Thursday.
The election has been widely seen as a test of Museveni’s political strength and his ability to avoid unrest that has affected neighbouring Tanzania and Kenya.
Museveni, in power since 1986, led with nearly 72% of the vote as of Saturday morning, according to the electoral commission. Wine trailed with 24%, with more than 90% of polling stations counted.
Voting on Thursday passed peacefully after a campaign marked by clashes at opposition events and what the United Nations described as widespread repression and intimidation.
However, violence erupted early Friday in Butambala, about 55 km southwest of Kampala, with police and a local member of parliament offering conflicting accounts.
Local police spokesperson Lydia Tumushabe said machete-wielding opposition supporters organised by area MP Muwanga Kivumbi attacked a police station and a vote-tallying centre.
“Security responded in self-defence because these people came in big numbers. Police fired in self-defence,” she told Reuters, adding that 25 people were arrested.
Kivumbi told Reuters that the victims were shot around 3 a.m. inside his home, where supporters had gathered to wait for parliamentary results.
“They killed 10 people inside my house,” he said, adding that people were in the garage awaiting results to celebrate his victory.
“They broke the front door and began shooting inside the garage. It was a massacre,” he said.
Kivumbi said security forces had earlier dispersed crowds outside but disputed police assertions that the deaths occurred during clashes.
Tumushabe said she was not aware of an incident at Kivumbi’s house, which she said was close to the police station.