Ugandan opposition politician Bobi Wine fled his home country to evade what he described as the government’s attempt to capture him following criticism of recent election results.
He was the most notable challenger to President Yoweri Museveni in the last two presidential elections. Museveni extended his 40-year rule in January’s presidential poll, which was criticized by the UN and rights groups for severe repression of the opposition.
Wine, a 44-year-old former pop star whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi, posted a video message on X in which he announced a “brief exit” from Uganda, adding that he would return “at the right time.” He faulted the declaration of Museveni as the winner of the last two elections, claiming in his video post that Museveni “usurped the will of the people of Uganda and declared himself president on gunpoint.”
Muhoozi Kainerugaba, the president’s son and the country’s military chief, has repeatedly threatened to arrest Wine since January’s vote.