Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has been declared the winner of a seventh term in office, extending his nearly 40-year rule following a tense election marked by violence, arrests, and an internet shutdown.
The country’s Electoral Commission announced on Saturday that the 81-year-old leader received 71.65% of the vote in Thursday’s poll. Election observers from across Africa said widespread intimidation, abductions, and arrests of opposition supporters had created a climate of fear. Reports also indicated at least 10 people were killed during the election period.
His main challenger, Bobi Wine, a 43-year-old former musician turned politician, won 24.72% of the vote. Wine said he had gone into hiding following a Friday night raid on his home by security forces.
“I managed to escape from them,” Wine wrote on X (formerly Twitter) Saturday, adding that his wife and family remained under house arrest. He denounced the election as fraudulent, calling the results “fake” while accusing the government of using security forces to suppress dissent.
In the capital Kampala, AFP journalists reported a heavy police deployment aimed at deterring protests similar to those recently seen in Kenya and Tanzania. Meanwhile, police denied raiding Wine’s home, saying they had only “controlled access” to areas deemed security-sensitive, claiming that Wine was still inside his residence.
