Life has been quite unfortunate for Mr. Kyagulanyi, famously known as Bobi Wine. Once a leading opposition candidate and now under siege. Mr. Kyagulanyi has been under house arrest for the past eleven days. His losing the Presidential seat truly disadvantaged him. The man can’t recall the last time he had a one on one conversation with his associates, supporters, and Uganda at large. The last time he voiced his opinion was when the Ugandan military surrounded his home. His arrest had sparked mixed reactions among his supporters, who suffered the wrath of government police.
Mr. Kyagulanyi has not been able to access platforms to voice his opinions. Hence it’s clear he has not yet conceded defeat.
Release Bobi Wine
On Monday, Uganda’s high court in Kampala ruled in favor of Mr. Wine. It demanded the Ugandan government to release Mr. Wine without failure. This verdict comes after Wine’s lawyers petitioned over the unlawful detention of their client. It is totally against human rights to detain someone without them having committed any offense.
Justice Micheal Elubu condemned Wine perpetrators for infringing on his liberties. What the state was doing to Wine was illegal and needed to stop.
Reporters confirmed that Mr. Wine’s home was being watched by scores of soldiers and police officers armed to the tooth. No one was allowed in or out of his house, with them patrolling the compound and neighborhood day and night. Being watched over like fugitives might have been the worst experience for Wine and his family.
Why House Arrest?
It appears that Mr. Wine challenged the first election results, which were out. He had alleged that President Museveni and his allies had stuffed ballot boxes with votes, and hence the results were null and void. He alleged that he was leading in the first count, not knowing that the Ugandan government already regarded him as a threat. Thus that the reason why they detained him.
Museveni’s administration alleged that they were trying to prevent Mr. Wine from organizing the protests amid the vote-counting process. More so as his initial speech already started to mobilize his supporters to create demonstrations. Although not much blood was lost during the election period, some people died while attempting to challenge Mr. Museveni. Although the Electoral Commission had already made it official that Nr Museveni was the new leader, Wine’s supporters stand no choice but to accept. They have no powers to oust his regime.
Does Mr. Wine have Any Plans After Release?
Brigadier Flavia Byekwaso, Uganda’s army spokesman, reported that the security agencies surrounding Wine’s home would respect the court order and withdraw. Meanwhile, if the officers withdraw immediately, Mr. Wine gas at least four days to petition the election results; if he chooses to petition, the court would have to hear and deliver a verdict within 45 days. Mr. Wine’s party mates did not leave any comments regarding petitioning. Instead, they said they were waiting for their party president to make decisions.
On Friday last week, Bobi Wine took to Facebook to urge the Ugandans that they had the right to protest if they wanted to. However, he did not call on his supporters to stage demonstrations. It happens that mister Wine is not the first Ugandan opposition to be kept under house arrest. In 2016, Kizza Besigye was also kept under house arrest for two months.
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