Casualties reported as pop star-turned-politician tweets police arrested him while he was on the campaign trail for the 2021 election.
Protests have erupted in Uganda’s capital, Kampala, after police arrested presidential candidate Bobi Wine in the east of the country.
An unknown number of people were killed and injured after demonstrators clashed with police officers, who fired live rounds and tear gas at opposition protesters, a Uganda Red Cross spokeswoman Irene Nakasiita told DPA news agency.
“There is a lot of panic and people are [running] in different directions. We are taking the injured to hospital. The situation is still volatile,” Nakasiita added.
The musician-turned-opposition leader, said on Twitter on Wednesday police violently broke into his vehicle in the town of Luuka and took him into custody.
“The price of freedom is high but we shall certainly overcome,” the 38-year-old politician’s account said in one of the tweets.
Officials accused him of violating coronavirus restrictions while out campaigning for next year’s presidential election.
Police under the command of Mwesigwa Frank of counter terrorism police has violently broken into Hon Kyagulanyi's car and arrested him at Luuka District headquarter grounds.
Admin.— BOBI WINE (@HEBobiwine) November 18, 2020
After news of the arrest reached the capital, Wine’s supporters blocked roads and burned tires, prompting police to fire tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse the protesters.
It was “total chaos” in the city, said the chairman of the Kampala City Traders Association, Evarest Kayongo. “The streets are empty … We have closed business because of tear gas and bullets,” he said.
Kampala Metropolitan police spokesman Patrick Onyango said they would soon issue a statement.
Earlier, riots broke out in Kampala after the news of the arrest of @HEBobiwine in Luuka reached the Capital city. NTV Uganda's Patrick Mukasa recorded the chaos as the property was destroyed in places like Kiseka market #NTVNews #UGDecides2021
📹: @pmukasaofficial pic.twitter.com/9TcxhnmU13
— NTV UGANDA (@ntvuganda) November 18, 2020
“Bobi has been arrested this morning in Luuka town, but we do not know his whereabouts right now,” the politician’s brother, opposition activist Fred Nyanzi, told the dpa news agency.
“We have not been allowed to see him and we don’t know what is happening,” asserted Joel Ssenyonyi, the spokesman for Bobi Wine’s political party, the National Unity Platform.
People take cover from tear gas as police officers arrest Bobi Wine during his campaign rally [AFP]Multiple arrests
Since expressing his intention to run in the election against long-ruling President Yoweri Museveni, Bobi Wine – whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi – has been arrested multiple times.
He has won a large following, especially among young people in the East African country, where general elections are scheduled in January 2021.
Many young supporters say they are drawn to Bobi Wine by his criticism of Museveni’s government mingled in his lyrics. Others say that as a young leader, he is better positioned to tackle the challenges they face.
Bobi Wine’s large following has rattled the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) and security forces have frequently fired tear gas at his rallies and detained and beaten his supporters, witnesses say.
On the day he was nominated early this month, a squad of military and police personnel used metallic tools to break into his vehicle. He was subsequently detained briefly and police used tear gas to disperse his supporters.
In a statement issued before Bobi Wine’s detention on Wednesday, police had warned that presidential candidates would be arrested if they flouted guidelines limiting attendance at rallies to 200 people during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Bobi Museveni, who had the constitution amended twice to allow him to run a sixth time in 2021, is seeking another five-year term in the January polls.
He has faced escalating police harassment since announcing his intention to challenge Museveni, who seized power as the head of a rebel army in 1986.
His catchy songs about social justice, poverty and corruption have shaken the governing party and its ageing patriarch Museveni, who at 76 is the only president most Ugandans have known.
Police to fire tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse the protesters (AP Photo)"again" - Google News
November 18, 2020 at 11:26PM
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