BY UCHECHI OKPORIE
Ugandan authorities have arrested a member of parliament and senior ally of opposition leader Bobi Wine in connection with violent clashes that erupted after last week’s general elections.
According to BBC News, Muwanga Kivumbi, a deputy leader of the National Unity Platform (NUP), is accused by police of coordinating attacks on a police station and a vote-counting centre after the party’s electoral loss. The NUP has rejected the allegations, describing them as unfounded.
According to police, seven people were killed during the unrest. Kivumbi disputes this account, stating that 10 supporters were shot dead at his residence while awaiting parliamentary election results.
In a statement posted on X on Thursday, the Uganda Police Force said Kivumbi would be charged in court in the coming days.
President Yoweri Museveni, who has been declared the winner of the election, warned opposition leaders against what he described as organised attempts to disrupt the electoral process.
He alleged that supporters armed with machetes tried to attack polling stations in Butambala district near Kampala, prompting security forces to respond with lethal force.
Bobi Wine, Museveni’s main challenger, has rejected the election outcome, calling it fraudulent and citing widespread irregularities. He has gone into hiding following what he claims was a security raid on his home.
Wine has accused state forces of carrying out a “silent massacre” and targeting political activists.
Earlier in the week, Wine alleged that more than 100 people were killed in election-related violence, although he provided no independent verification.
His remarks came after Uganda’s army chief, General Muhoozi Kainerugaba — the president’s son and a possible successor — said security forces had killed 22 opposition supporters during the disturbances.
Since the elections, dozens of young people in Kampala have reportedly been arrested in connection with the unrest.
Museveni, who first took power in 1986 after leading a rebel movement, is expected to remain in office until 2031, extending his rule to 45 years. Uganda has yet to experience a peaceful transfer of presidential power since independence.
