KAMPALA, Uganda — Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni has taken a commanding lead in Thursday’s presidential election, with provisional results showing him securing 75% of the vote, far ahead of his main challenger Robert Kyagulanyi, popularly known as Bobi Wine, whose party has questioned the credibility of the tally. The figures are based on returns from 70% of polling stations across the country.
Wine, who claims he has been placed under house arrest with security forces surrounding his home in Kampala, urged supporters to ignore the “fake results.”
“IGNORE the fake results being announced by Byabakama. He can’t tell anybody where those results are coming from. The PEOPLE OF UGANDA will have the final say on this nonsense,” he said on X, Uganda’s Twitter-like platform.
Tensions escalated overnight in Butambala, approximately 55km (35 miles) south-west of Kampala, where at least seven opposition supporters were killed in disputed circumstances.
An internet blackout imposed earlier in the week delayed the flow of information about the violence until Friday.
Muwanga Kivumbi, a Member of Parliament (MP) for Wine’s National Unity Platform (NUP), told Vivid Voice News that soldiers and police fired tear gas and live ammunition at hundreds of people who had gathered at his home to monitor early election results.
“Ten were killed inside my house,” Kivumbi said.
Human rights activist Agather Atuhaire corroborated this account to Reuters.
However, local police spokesperson Lydia Tumushabe disputed these claims, insisting officers fired in self-defence after what she described as an attack on a police station by “a group of NUP goons” armed with machetes, axes and boxes of matches, resulting in at least seven fatalities.
Later on Friday, the US embassy issued a security alert to citizens following reports that security forces were “using tear gas and firing into the air to disperse gatherings.”
Some journalists reported being blocked from accessing Wine’s home in Magere, Kampala.
“After casting my ballot, the military deployed all around my home in order to place me under house arrest. These criminals even jumped over the fence and entered our compound. My house is still besieged – no-one allowed to come in or go out,” Wine wrote. “They do this because they are afraid of the people’s reaction after stealing their vote.”
Police spokesperson Kituuma Rusoke told our correspondent in Kampala that Wine was considered “a person of interest” as a presidential contestant, and that the heavy deployment was intended for his security.
Wine, who garnered 35% of the vote in the 2021 election, has previously been confined to his home for several days by security forces.
Electoral Commission (EC) chair Simon Byabakama said vote counting had not been disrupted by the internet blackout, as results were transmitted via a “private system” from districts to the national tally centre.
“We are on course to announce the winner of the presidential election within 48 hours. Before 5 PM [14:00 GMT] tomorrow, we shall have the final results,” Byabakama said.
Thursday’s election followed a highly charged and sometimes violent campaign, with 81-year-old Museveni seeking a seventh term in office. Wine, 43, a former pop star, alleged “massive” fraud but has not provided documentary evidence. Authorities have not responded to these claims.
The United Nations Human Rights Office warned that the election could be marked by “widespread repression and intimidation”.
Voting itself was disrupted in many areas, with delays of up to four hours due to late ballot boxes and malfunctioning biometric voter verification machines. Some analysts have linked these delays to the ongoing network outage.
Although six other candidates contested the presidential race, the election was largely a two-horse contest between Museveni and Wine. Wine, who represents Uganda’s youth-dominated population, has promised to tackle corruption and implement reforms, while Museveni argues he is the sole guarantor of stability and development in the country.
Opposition supporters have accused security forces of harassment and detaining campaign agents, while police dismissed the complaints, accusing the opposition of disruption.
The Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) justified the ongoing internet shutdown as a measure to prevent misinformation, electoral fraud, and potential violence—a move condemned by the UN as “deeply worrying.”
