Ugandan police deny reports of Bobi Wine's abduction

Ugandan police have dismissed reports circulating online that opposition leader Robert Kyagulanyi, popularly known as Bobi Wine, was abducted overnight and taken to an undisclosed location.

A police spokesperson said the allegations, which appeared on various social media platforms and were amplified by some of Wine’s relatives, were false and deliberately misleading.

“I would like to issue a statement on behalf of the Uganda Police Force in respect to allegations that are making rounds on some media spaces,” the spokesperson said in a video released on Saturday morning.

“They have also found their way to other communities that have access to social media platforms, especially outside our jurisdiction.”

He said the claims suggesting the National Unity Platform leader had been arrested or kidnapped were fabricated.

“The allegations are being made that Mr Kyagulanyi, who is a presidential candidate, has been arrested and taken to an unknown location,” he said.

“Some of these allegations are being paraded by his family members.”

The police spokesperson insisted that the reports were part of a coordinated attempt to portray Ugandan security agencies as abusive.

“What I would like to say is these are deceitful and inciteful allegations intended to depict the security agencies of Uganda as brutal and violators of the rights of a political candidate,” he added.

“They are untrue and unfounded.”

Ugandan authorities did not provide further details on Wine’s whereabouts or his security arrangements at the time of the police statement.

The opposition leader has frequently accused security agencies of harassment and intimidation, especially around election periods, allegations the government has repeatedly denied.

According to reports, the son of the opposition leader said both his parents have been seized by the military.

Earlier on, Al Jazeera reported that a National Unity Platform official told the agency that “men who appeared to be military and other security agents jumped over the fence” of Wine’s home.

But the official could not say whether Wine was at home or had been taken away.

Earlier, Wine said he had been placed under house arrest, with security forces surrounding his home, after he alleged fraud had taken place in Thursday's election.

At that stage, police spokesman Kituuma Rusoke told local broadcaster NBS that as a presidential contestant, Wine was "a person of interest", adding that the heavy security deployment around his home was for his own security.

Some local journalists said security forces had blocked them from accessing the opposition leader's home in Kampala's Magere area.