Ugandan opposition figure Bobi Wine shot in the leg after confrontation with police

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Ugandan opposition figure Bobi Wine shot in the leg after confrontation with police

8:11 CAT | 04 Sep 2024

Bobi Wine has since been discharged from hospital [Photo: @NUP_Ug/X]

Ugandan opposition figure Bobi Wine was shot in the leg in a confrontation with police Tuesday just outside the capital, Kampala, his opposition group said.

Photos posted online showed Wine surrounded by followers who yelled that he had been shot in the leg before some supported him into a waiting car.

His party, the National Unity Platform, holds the most seats of any opposition group in the national assembly. The party said on X that Ugandan security operatives “have made an attempt on the life of” Wine, whose real name is Kyagulanyi Ssentamu.

“He was shot in the leg and seriously injured in Bulindo, Wakiso District,” it said, referring to a town on the outskirts of the Ugandan capital of Kampala.

Security operatives have made an attempt on the life of President @HEBobiwine. He was shot in the leg and seriously injured in Bulindo, Wakiso District. pic.twitter.com/24oxJfND0Z

— National Unity Platform (@NUP_Ug) September 3, 2024

Street confrontations between Wine and the police have frequently descended into violence, but this is the first time he has been wounded in such a way.

There was no immediate comment from the police and other authorities.

Wine ran for president in 2021, losing to President Yoweri Museveni in an election he claimed was rigged against him. Wine was a famous entertainer in this East African country before he won a seat in the national assembly in 2017. He is especially popular among young Ugandans in urban areas.

Museveni, a US ally on regional security for many years, has held power since 1986 and had the constitution amended to remove the age limit for presidents. Now 79 years old, he has resisted calls to announce when he will retire.

Uganda hasn’t had a peaceful transfer of power since independence from the British in 1962.

This evening as our President returned from Bulindo in Kira Municipality where he had gone to check on one of our lawyers, Musisi George, the police and military under the command of one Twesigye surrounded our vehicles and started firing live bullets, teargas canisters and other… pic.twitter.com/PCfnM1cCoe

— BOBI WINE (@HEBobiwine) September 3, 2024

Upon the successful surgery on his injured leg, the President @HEBobiwine was today afternoon discharged from St. Francis Hospital Nsambya on his own request. He did this in consideration of other patients and his own safety that was in jeopardy.

Security operatives were all… pic.twitter.com/la5TLBv803

— National Unity Platform (@NUP_Ug) September 4, 2024

Source: AFP