Bobi Wine’s NUP Headquarters Sealed Off Ahead of Controversial Protests

On Monday, soldiers and police cordoned off the headquarters of Uganda’s largest opposition party, the National Unity Platform (NUP), as a precautionary measure ahead of planned anti-government protests scheduled for Tuesday, despite an official ban.

National Unity Platform leader Robert Kyagulanyi, also known as Bobi Wine, reported via social media that security forces had surrounded the NUP headquarters in Kampala, restricting entry and exit. He claimed that several NUP leaders had been “violently arrested” and shared images showing military personnel and army trucks stationed outside the premises.

“The military and police have raided and surrounded the National Unity Platform offices,” Wine asserted. “The cowardly regime is so afraid of the people because they know how much they have wronged them!”

Police spokesperson Kituuma Rusoke did not immediately respond to inquiries regarding the reported arrests.

Wine, 42, a pop star turned politician, has emerged as a prominent challenger to President Yoweri Museveni, 79, who has been in power since 1986.

The protests, led primarily by Ugandan youth, are intended to march to parliament on Tuesday in defiance of a demonstration ban, aiming to protest against alleged corruption and human rights abuses under Museveni’s administration. Wine stated that while his party is not organizing the protests, it supports them.

Rusoke explained that the security measures were implemented due to concerns over NUP’s “mobilization for the protest,” citing activities that raised red flags.

Although protests are constitutionally permissible in Uganda, organizers are required to obtain permits from the police, which are seldom granted.

Opposition leaders and human rights advocates accuse the government of widespread embezzlement and misuse of funds, and they allege that Museveni has failed to prosecute corrupt officials who are either politically loyal or related to him.

In response, Museveni has instructed the Criminal Investigations Directorate to “arrest and prosecute all government officials linked to ghost civil servants on the payroll,” as announced on social media.

In a recent speech, Museveni cautioned against the planned protests, alleging that they were being fueled by foreign interests. “Some elements, including those from the opposition, are collaborating with foreigners to incite chaos in Uganda—riots, illegal demonstrations, and indiscreet processions,” he warned. “These individuals should reconsider their actions, or we will be compelled to intervene.”