Ugandan police have rejected claims that opposition presidential candidate Robert Kyagulanyi, widely known as Bobi Wine, was abducted and taken to an undisclosed location.
Police described the reports spreading on social media as misleading, saying they are meant to portray Uganda’s security agencies as violent and as abusers of a political candidate’s rights
Speaking to the press, a police spokesperson said the force was responding to allegations circulating across various media platforms, including social networks accessed both within and outside the country.
The police response followed a statement by Kyagulanyi’s party, the National Unity Platform (NUP), which on Friday alleged that the opposition leader had been forcefully taken from his home and flown to an unknown destination in a military helicopter.
The claim came a day after Ugandans voted in a highly charged election conducted under an internet shutdown.
Previously, on January 16, the NUP had reported that military and police officers surrounded Kyagulanyi’s home, restricting his and his wife’s movement and effectively placing them under house confinement.