Uganda: Opposition leader allegedly beaten by security forces

Ugandan opposition leader Bobi Wine was allegedly beaten by security forces while campaigning in the northern city of Gulu, according to Africa News and AP on December 8th.

In a series of posts on X, Wine claims that security forces, sometimes not in uniform, attacked him and also vandalised a sound system used by his campaign team. He also stated that “the military attacked and vandalised” his campaign team’s Gulu-based office.

The presidential elections are set to take place on January 15th, 2026, and Wine, of the National Unity Platform (NUP), is challenging President Yoweri Museveni for the second time.

This was not the first time that Wine, whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, has faced backlash from the authorities, as police in the northern city of Arua allegedly blocked NUP staff from accessing a planned campaign venue in November.

Museveni, of the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM), has governed Uganda since 1986 and was formally declared a candidate by electoral officials in September after presenting over two million signatures of support.

The 81-year-old is seeking his sixth term in office and is benefiting from a 2017 constitutional amendment, which removed presidential age limits.

Despite being in office since 1986, Museveni was not officially elected until 1996, as he initially took power by force. Since 2001, the legitimacy of Uganda’s elections has been disputed over allegations of rigging and interference by the military, which Museveni’s son leads.

On December 3rd, the UN issued a statement condemning the intensifying crackdown on opposition figures and the media ahead of the January elections. According to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), reports suggest that at least 550 people have been arrested and detained since early 2025.

OHCHR’s spokesperson, Ravina Shamdasan, stated that, “It is deeply regrettable that election campaigns have once again been marked by widespread arbitrary arrests, detentions, and the use of unnecessary or disproportionate force against the opposition, as well as undue restriction of press freedom.”

According to the statement, journalists who have been critical of Museveni have had their accreditation withdrawn, opposition supporters and activists have been subject to forced disappearances, torture and other ill treatment that has increased over the past year.

In October, two Kenyan activists who had travelled to Uganda to support Wine’s campaign were reportedly abducted at a petrol station in Kampala.

On January 14th, it was reported that the opposition leader, Kizza Besigye, was facing trial for treason, where he would be eligible for the death penalty if convicted.

Besigye was arrested in November 2024, and his wife claimed that he was abducted in Nairobi, Kenya, on November 16th. He was being tried by a martial court and argued that he should be tried by a civil court.

Africa News and AP, Maghrebi.org