KAMPALA (UGANDA) – The United States ambassador in Kampala was stopped by security personnel from visiting opposition leader Bobi Wine at his residence. This has made the mission to call his house arrest a “worrying” indicator.
Incumbent Yoweri Museveni, 76, who has been in power since 1986, emerged winner of the poll with 59% of the vote over Wine’s 35%.
US Ambassador Natalie E. Brown was prevented from visiting Kyagulanyi at his residence in a suburb in the northern outskirts of the capital, according to the embassy in a statement late on Monday.
The mission said Brown wanted to check on Wine’s “health and safety,” .
The embassy talked about protests from opposition, and said that last week’s vote was tainted by the harassment of opposition candidates, suppression of media and rights advocates, followed by a nationwide internet shutdown.
It said, “These unlawful actions and the effective house arrest of a presidential candidate continue a worrying trend on the course of Uganda’s democracy.”
The United States and the European Union has not appointed observer missions for the polls after their accreditations were denied and when Ugandan authorities failed to adhere to recommendations by past missions.
During the campaigning, security forces routinely broke up Wine’s rallies by employing means such as teargas, bullets, beatings and detentions. They cited violations of laws implemented to curb the spread of the coronavirus, for those actions.
Wine and his National Unity Platform (NUP) have rejected the results and said they were aiming for a court challenge.