Angola’s largest opposition party, the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA), this Friday condemned the detention in Kampala of Ugandan opposition leader Bobi Wine, which it classified as “illegal”.
In a statement by the executive secretariat of the Standing Committee of the Political Commission, UNITA said it had “become aware of news coming out of Uganda regarding the illegal detention” of Bobi Wine, president of the Party of National Unity (NUP), after he attended a conference in South Africa.
“The Executive Secretariat of the Standing Committee of the UNITA Political Commission strongly condemns this kind of authoritarian actions that undermine democracy on our continent, in Africa. We express our full solidarity with President Bob Wine and call for his immediate release without conditions,” the note added.
The statement ends with a call for Ugandan authorities to “immediately return” the military personnel surrounding Wine’s residence to their barracks.
Ugandan opposition leader and former singer Robert Kyagulanyi, better known by his stage name Bobi Wine, was detained on Thursday after returning from South Africa.
For his part, Wine himself later announced on social networks that he was “under house arrest.”
“Our house is still surrounded by police and army. They did not allow most of our people (access) to greet us. Some time ago, they used tear gas and live ammunition to disperse them (…) The criminal regime is in panic,” Wine said.
In a video posted on social media, the Ugandan opposition leader said that after landing in the country, he was placed in a “military vehicle with many soldiers and police, more than 15 people (…) which was very humiliating. and uncomfortable.”
Wine also lamented that several journalists were “beaten up”, detained and had their material confiscated while covering the events.
In mid-September, Ugandan police announced a ban on rallies organized by Wine’s 41-year-old party until further notice, citing concerns about maintaining public order.
Uganda’s president is Yoweri Musevini, who has ruled the country since 1986 and was re-elected in January 2021 after an election period marked by the disappearance of hundreds of opposition supporters, protests, security forces breaking up with live ammunition and at least 54 protesters. killed.
The opposition leader was also detained during the election campaign.
In February 2022, the European Union (EU) delegation to Uganda expressed concern about allegations of torture and other human rights abuses in the East African country, two days after a prominent writer published photographs of injuries sustained during his arrest by police. .