KAMPALA, Uganda – Much of Uganda has returned to normalcy after millions of people voted in tense presidential and parliamentary elections marked by violence and disputed results in some parts of the country.
President Yoweri Museveni, 81, was declared the winner on Saturday with 72 per cent of the total votes cast. Former musician Robert Kyagulanyi (also known as Bobi Wine) secured 25%.
Bobi Wine’s National Unity Platform (NUP) party and two other presidential candidates rejected the results, alleging irregularities including ballot stuffing, intimidation and banning party officials from polling stations. The United Nations also said Thursday’s vote was marred by “widespread repression and intimidation.”
On the day the country’s electoral commission announced Museveni’s victory, Bobi Wine appeared in a social media video telling supporters that his home had been raided by police and other unknown persons and he had been forced to go into hiding.
“I know they are looking for me, but even if they succeed and get me, no matter what means they use, I want to say this to you Ugandans,” he said in the video. [the chair of the Electoral Commission] Because the so-called results they are publishing are fake and do not reflect what happened at the voting booths at all. ”
Opposition parties and their supporters claim the government has violently cracked down on opposition, shutting down the internet and arresting protesters.
Museveni accused Bobi Wine’s party of trying to destabilize the country.
Ugandan authorities said the four-day internet shutdown was a security measure aimed at preventing the spread of misinformation that could cause fear and confusion.
The government also said seven people were killed in Butambara, and police said demonstrators tried to attack a polling station and a police station. The NUP disputes this account, claiming that police opened fire on the homes of party officials, killing at least 10 people, but Al Jazeera could not independently confirm this claim.
In an exclusive interview with Al Jazeera’s Catherine Soi while in hiding, Bobi Wine denounced the government’s “repression to intimidate, silence and suppress the forces of change.”
He also claimed to have “evidence” of wrongdoing, including a video showing “election commission officials, not police or military,” checking ballots in favor of Museveni.
Al Jazeera: How are you doing? What about your family?
Bobi Wine: I am alive. I don’t know what’s going on with my family, but I try to keep in touch with my wife. She’s okay, she’s strong. [The security forces are] Still at my house. No one is allowed to enter the house.
Al Jazeera: A police spokesperson told us that you are not under arrest and are at home. Obviously, that’s not the case. what do you say to them?
Bobi Wine: I saw the police spokesperson saying that I am at home. The same police official said that the people who were shot at my vice president’s house were actually attacking the police station. Yet they were inside the house. As you know, there is a lot going on and the shamelessness of the Ugandan regime is now unfathomable. You know, they’ll do something outright – and they’ll lie about it.
Al Jazeera: Are you referring to the incident in Butambara? Please tell me what happened.
Bobi Wine: 10 people were killed at my vice president’s house in Butambara. they were shot dead. Police shot through garage and car storage doors, killing 10 people. However, many people died in Iganga as well. Many people were killed in Kawempe and many other places.
So one of the reasons I couldn’t stay home is that as a leader I had to stay in touch with these people. I had to coach. I needed to reach out and find out what was going on. It was very dangerous for me. You have heard that Muhoozi Kainerugaba, General Museveni’s son, the head of the military, has promised to cut off my head, and we have had information for some time that they are coming to harm me. So in the commotion when they raided my house, I used some old skills to escape.
Al Jazeera: The president called you and other party officials traitors and “terrorists.” What should I say to that?
Bobi Wine: You should know that in any dictatorship, especially here in Africa, standing against a dictator means being a terrorist, being a traitor, and all that. That is, a Catholic priest called a priest. [Deusdedit] Mr. Sekabila was arrested and General Museveni spoke about him and said that the Catholic priest was arrested and quarantined for over two weeks for collaborating with me. However, I was not arrested. Young people are in prison because of their association with me and the party I lead. But I, along with the Secretary-General and many others, have not been detained. This is a repression designed to intimidate, silence, and completely suppress the forces of change. All those who aspire to change and all those who do not support General Museveni.
Al Jazeera: You rejected the election. You said the election was fraudulent. What evidence do you have?
Bobi Wine: There is evidence before, during and after the election.
A day or two before the election, several poll workers were taken away by the military. Some of them are still missing.
And you’ve probably seen the video. They shut down the internet. And this time, election commission officials, rather than the police or military, took part in checking the ballots in support of General Museveni. We have those records. We had videos of them doing it and started uploading them to social media. (Al Jazeera was unable to verify a video on social media that purported to show an official filling out a ballot. An election commission spokesperson declined to speak to Al Jazeera about the allegations.)
The chairman of the election commission…announced the results that no one knows where they came from. They were to select them from the result declaration and district tally sheets. Our agent was there too. They had different results on form. However, the chairman of the election commission declared something completely different. Therefore, we refused.
As we have previously told the people, this is going to be a protest vote. For more than 100 days, we have encouraged Ugandans to stand up and take back their voice in accordance with Article 29 of the Constitution when a dictatorship attempts to subvert their voice. That’s what we encourage them to do.
Al Jazeera: So what does that mean? Protests?
Bobi Wine: It means non-violent and legally accepted protests. It means protesting, it means rejecting abuses of democracy, it means fighting back against any subversion of democracy. Article 29 of our Constitution provides that Ugandans may protest and demonstrate peacefully and unarmed. And that’s what we’ve encouraged them to do and continue to encourage them to do.
There may also be protests in the streets. Some of us started protesting by holding the national flag high. Some people can protest by staying at home. We called on Ugandans to find many creative ways to protest and to fight back in the most moral, constitutional and legal way possible.
Al Jazeera: Is going to the Supreme Court not an option for you?
Bobi Wine: Uganda’s judicial system is not independent at all. In the last presidential election petition, the Supreme Court ordered certain reforms, but they were completely ignored. Therefore, we have no hope for the Ugandan justice system. That is why we have always encouraged Ugandans to reclaim their voice.
Al Jazeera: The government and the security forces have accused you and your supporters of ignoring election rules and campaigning in places where you probably weren’t supposed to campaign during the election period, which is why you faced this kind of violence, tear gas, and disruptions to your rallies. what is your response?
Bobi Wine: That’s what they’re saying. However, Ugandan law allows candidates, especially presidential candidates, to campaign wherever there are people. And indeed, that campaign program was reviewed and approved by the Uganda Electoral Commission. But they weren’t even allowed to drive on the main roads. They were not allowed to campaign in cities or populated areas. I was always sent to the bush, and people came there.
But also, the Election Commission was never in charge of this election. The military was in charge of this election. …I mean, if I had done anything wrong, if I had broken any laws, I would have been arrested a long time ago.
Al Jazeera: Some Ugandans agree with what you say, but there is a lot of fear in this country. And they’re saying, “Okay, the election is over, so let’s move on.”
Bobi Wine: Moving forward means abandoning slavery. We have said many times that living for 40 years under a military dictatorship is like slavery. Ugandans have no rights and no voice. Uganda is a very young country, the second youngest country in the world. [by age]is ruled by a ruler who is over 80 years old.
Corruption is commonplace. The country is in turmoil. And it is our right and duty as the present generation, the parents of today and the beginnings of this country, to ensure that we are in charge of our own destiny.
Al Jazeera: And finally you can’t go home?
Bobi Wine: The reason I am not at home is to speak to the world. If I were at home, you wouldn’t have access to me.
I would love to stay home. I haven’t changed my clothes in days. I want to stay home. I want to be free. I want to take care of people.
However, the military and police occupied my house. They destroyed my gate. They cut the padlock. They cut power at my house. So they more or less colonized my house.
Unfortunately, there is no rule of law in Uganda. You cannot seek relief from the courts. You cannot seek redress from state institutions. I just need to fight back in my own crude, non-violent way.
Note: This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.
