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Ugandan opposition leader Bobi Wine disclosed on Saturday that he had left the country after nearly two months in hiding, evading what he described as a systematic military search launched the day after January’s disputed presidential election, a manhunt led publicly on social media by army chief General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, President Yoweri Museveni’s son, who posted repeated threats and referred to Wine in language his supporters have characterised as incitement.
In a five-minute video message posted on his X account, an unshaven Wine confirmed his departure while declining to disclose his location or destination.
“Fellow Ugandans and friends of Uganda all over the world, by the time you see this video I will have left the country for some critical engagements outside Uganda,” he said. “At the right time, I will come back and continue with the cause.” He thanked Ugandans who had “concealed and protected” him during the weeks he spent evading detection.
Wine, whose full legal name is Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, went into hiding shortly after the January 15 presidential election. Official results gave Museveni 71.6 percent of the vote, a margin Wine described as fabricated. He alleged that soldiers raided his home near Kampala the day after the result was declared, that his family members were assaulted during the incursion, and that troops subsequently occupied the property. Over the following weeks, he said, authorities mounted roadblocks, conducted vehicle checks, and raided the homes of colleagues and fellow National Unity Platform leaders in search of him. “Over the past two months, the regime has looked for me everywhere,” he said in the video, adding that the search had extended to homes belonging to people who had no connection to his political activities.
The hunt for Wine has been led by General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, Museveni’s son and the presumed heir to political succession, who posted a series of threats on X describing Wine as a “baboon” and a “terrorist.” Police have said they are not looking for him. The army chief has suggested, without specifying a charge, that Wine is wanted for unspecified crimes. The divergence between the police’s position and the army chief’s public statements has left Wine’s precise legal status undefined, simultaneously not subject to any announced charges and the object of a military search operation with publicly stated intent to locate him.
Wine is the most prominent of seven candidates who contested the January 15 election against Museveni. He leads the National Unity Platform, the principal opposition organisation in Uganda, and has built a following concentrated heavily among young urban Ugandans who cite unemployment, official corruption, and the absence of political accountability as their primary concerns. Many want to see political change after four decades of the same leader.
In May, the 81-year-old Museveni will be sworn in for a seventh term that would bring him closer to five decades of continuous rule.
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The January election took place under conditions that international and domestic observers said replicated the pattern of previous Ugandan electoral cycles characterised by intimidation and obstruction. Wine’s campaign had been blocked from holding rallies in multiple regions, with security forces turning back supporters before events could begin. Vehicles transporting his campaign materials were stopped at checkpoints.
A number of National Unity Platform candidates standing for parliamentary seats were arrested in the weeks before polling day. The European Union observer mission’s preliminary report noted “restrictions on campaigning, incidents of violence and intimidation” and said the election had not been conducted on a level playing field.
Museveni’s government rejected those characterisations, as it has consistently rejected similar findings after previous elections. Museveni’s supporters credit him with the relative peace and stability that has made Uganda a destination for hundreds of thousands of refugees fleeing conflict elsewhere in East and Central Africa. His government points to economic growth, infrastructure development, and the country’s role as a regional security partner as evidence of a functioning state. Critics, including former close allies who have since broken with him, describe what they characterise as an accelerating descent into authoritarian governance, in which elections serve as legitimating rituals rather than genuine contests for power.
Read Also: Over 40 Killed In Multiple Bus Crash In Western Uganda
Wine said he planned to use his time outside Uganda to conduct “critical engagements” with international allies — governments, human rights organisations, and diaspora communities — and to draw global attention to what he described as the Museveni administration’s suppression of legitimate democratic activity. He gave no timeframe for his planned return and declined to say where he was going, citing security concerns for himself and those around him. He characterised the decision to leave as temporary and necessary rather than as exile: a strategic withdrawal to preserve his capacity to continue the political struggle from a position of safety.
Uganda’s government and military did not issue a response to Wine’s video on Saturday. Kainerugaba, who had been the most publicly vocal actor in the search for Wine, made no immediate social media post responding to the disclosure that Wine had left the country. The Ugandan Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Uganda Police Force did not comment.
The political situation inside Uganda in the weeks since the election has been characterised by sporadic arrests of NUP officials and activists, court appearances for individuals detained during election-period security operations, and a broader suppression of public commentary on the election’s conduct. Several journalists who reported on post-election unrest were questioned by authorities. The Uganda Communications Commission instructed broadcasters to avoid content it characterised as “inflammatory” in connection with the election’s disputed outcome.
No formal legal process against Wine, no charge sheet, arrest warrant, or criminal summons, has been made public by any Ugandan authority. Ugandan police say they are not looking for him.
Whether Wine will face any formal legal consequence upon his return to Uganda, and on what basis, remains publicly undefined. His destination and the nature of the international engagements he described were not confirmed by any third party as of Sunday.
