BIs obi Wine under house arrest? While still contesting the results of the presidential election on Thursday, January 14, the Ugandan opposition leader called on the international community on Sunday to demand the lifting of his “house arrest”. The standoff is engaged with the power that sweeps back the words of the ex-singer. Since the proclamation of the victory of Yoweri Museveni with 58.6% of the vote, the opposition is organizing to contest, by all means and means, these figures. Opposite, a real machine is set in motion to prevent Wine and his relatives from acting.
Assigned to de facto residence
Second in the ballot with 34.8%, the former ragga singer launched in politics – Robert Kyagulanyi of his real name – ensures that the ballot was tainted with fraud and constitutes a “complete masquerade”. He has not left his home in Kampala since he went to vote on Thursday and says he is “under siege” by soldiers and police who have surrounded his house, preventing anyone from entering or leaving. “We are here, we have no more food and no one is allowed in or out,” he said in an exchange with reporters via Zoom on a sizzling “clandestine” line, while Uganda remains under an Internet blackout for the fifth day – report our colleagues from Agence France-Presse. “We have not been accused of anything,” he added.
Bobi Wine, 38, claims to have videos of ballot box stuffing, soldiers forcing voters to choose, or pre-checked ballots. And that is precisely what frightens the authorities. In fact, the Internet blackout prevents his lawyers from launching legal proceedings, he said. That is why he called for international sanctions against President Museveni, the release of political prisoners, the reestablishment of the Internet, an international audit on the election and that “all nations review their relations with Uganda ”. Even though he was unable to meet with his party officials to decide what to do next, he said they put on the table “all non-violent, legal and constitutional options, including legal and peaceful protests.”
“Our leader (…) is effectively under house arrest,” National Unity Platform (NUP) spokesperson Joel Ssenyonyi told a press conference, adding that no one was allowed to visit. at Bobi Wine. “His house is not a detention center. We are very concerned about the state in which he and his wife find themselves, ”he added.
For the authorities, the motive for such a deployment of force is obvious. Police spokesman Fred Enanga said security forces were “maintaining security” around Wine’s home as a preventative measure against possible riots. “Wine is allowed to leave his home under escort in order to prevent his supporters from provoking riots and violent demonstrations,” he said.
“Once again, a minority clique prevails over the majority of Uganda. We will resist this situation. We are going to say no by using all the means provided by law, ”he added. Bobi Wine’s party said earlier that MP Francis Zaake, arrested on Friday during an attempted visit to the opponent’s home, was admitted to hospital after being “severely beaten and brutalized” by the forces of security. Calling himself the “president of the ghetto,” Bobi Wine can count on strong support from young people living in cities, where frustration with unemployment and corruption is high. The opponent’s situation is reminiscent of that which the opponent Kizza Besigye had to face after the presidential elections of 2016, at the time of his defeat to Museveni.
Silencing all forms of protest
Former guerrilla, first applauded as a modern leader after the horrors of the regimes of Idi Amin Dada and Milton Obote, Yoweri Museveni, now 76, has gradually developed into an authoritarian president, crushing all opposition. His hegemonic party, the National Resistance Movement, twice amended the constitution to allow him to stay in power. He said it was the cleanest election in the country’s history. Washington reacted, and said it was “deeply disturbed” by “the many credible reports of violence by law enforcement during the pre-election period and irregularities during the poll,” in a statement from the State Department American released overnight. Thursday’s ballot took place in apparent calm, but under the strong and oppressive presence of riot police and the military. It was held at the end of a particularly violent campaign, marked by deaths, attacks on the media and numerous arrests of members of the opposition. Police spokesman Fred Enanga said 55 people were arrested during the election period for “violent acts”. “Although the elections were peaceful and successful, there were criminal elements who wanted to provoke violence,” he said, adding that they would be brought to justice.
Get out of the blackout
At the same time, Internet access has been partially restored, a government spokesperson said on Monday, January 18, after five days of almost total suspension. Social networks and messaging services were suspended from January 12 and internet access had been severely disrupted since January 13, the government citing national security reasons. “The Internet has been restored. The other platforms are still being studied, ”government spokesman Ofwono Opondo told AFP on Monday. He added that this partial restoration could be extended “depending on what happens during the initial phase of opening the connection”. “We advise Internet users, especially those of the opposition, not to use it to promote hate propaganda, threats, intimidation as we observed before (the cut)”, he said. he adds.
Social media is still very disrupted in Kampala, where millions of people have had little or no ability to email, search or use Facebook for a week. Uganda has 20 million internet users, nearly half of its population, according to figures from the telecommunications regulator. Data from NetBlocks, a non-governmental organization that identifies Internet outages, she said shows planning ahead of the blockage. “This is one of the most methodical nationwide blackouts we’ve seen,” the organization told AFP.
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