UGANDAN President Yoweri Museveni won a seventh term in office on Saturday after an election marred by violence and an internet shutdown, with African observers saying arrests and abductions had “instilled fear”.
Museveni, 81, won 71.65 percent of the vote in Thursday’s election, the Electoral Commission said, amid reports of at least 10 deaths and intimidation of the opposition and civil society.
His victory allows him to extend his 40-year rule of the east African country.
He defeated Bobi Wine, 43, a former singer-turned-politician who won 24.72 percent and said he was in hiding on Saturday after a raid by security forces on his home.
Wine has faced relentless pressure since entering politics, including multiple arrests before his first run for the presidency in 2021.
He stated his “complete rejection of the fake results” and said he was on the run after the raid on his home on Friday night.
“I want to confirm that I managed to escape from them,” Wine posted on X on Saturday. Currently, I am not at home, although my wife and other family members remain under house arrest.
“I know that these criminals are looking for me everywhere and I am trying my best to keep safe,” he added.
There was a heavy police presence around the capital, Kampala, AFP journalists saw, as security forces sought to prevent the sort of protests that have hit neighbouring Kenya and Tanzania in recent months.
Police denied they had raided Wine’s home but said they had “controlled access in areas we feel are security hotspots”, adding they believed the opposition leader was still at home.
“We have not necessarily denied people accessing him but we cannot tolerate instances where people use his residence to gather and… incite violence,” police spokesman Kituuma Rusoke told reporters.
A stall-owner near Wine’s home, 29-year-old Prince Jerard, told AFP he had heard a drone and helicopter at the residence the previous night, and saw numerous security officials.
