
Uganda’s opposition leader Robert Kyagulanyi, popularly known as Bobi Wine, accused the police and military of attempting to block him from leaving his home ahead of planned campaigns for a by-election in Kayunga district, north-east of the capital, Kampala.
Bobi Wine had tweeted photos of police and military parading outside his home.
“The military has increased deployment around my home. No one is allowed to leave or enter,” Bobi Wine said on Twitter, accusing longtime President Yoweri Museveni of placing him “under house arrest”.
“Our security guard and gardener have been violently arrested and beaten,” Bobi Wine said, adding that they had been “bundled” into a police vehicle outside his gate and their phones confiscated.
Bobi Wine was set to campaign on Tuesday in support of an opposition candidate running in the by-election in the central district of Kayunga, where President Yoweri Museveni is also expected to hold a rally for the ruling party’s candidate for the district chairperson position.
The by-election is scheduled for Thursday.
The singer turned politician has been arrested several times in recent years.
Following the tense January 14 presidential election that returned Museveni to power for a sixth term, soldiers and police surrounded Bobi Wine’s property, stopping members of his household including his wife from leaving.
Bobi Wine managed to win 35% of the votes, while the incumbent president was declared the winner with 59% of the vote.
In March, Bobi Wine was detained as he took part in a protest against the detention of his supporters.