Uganda’s Bobi Wine: ‘We have evidence’ of election fraud in Museveni win

6 hours ago 4

Kampala, Uganda – Much of Uganda has returned to mean aft millions voted successful tense statesmanlike and legislative elections marked by unit successful immoderate parts of the state and disputed results.

President Yoweri Museveni, 81, was declared the victor connected Saturday with 72 percent of full votes cast. Former instrumentalist Robert Kyagulanyi, popularly known arsenic Bobi Wine, secured 25 percent.

Bobi Wine’s National Unity Platform (NUP) enactment and 2 different statesmanlike candidates person rejected the results, alleging irregularities including ballot stuffing, intimidation, and the blocking of enactment agents from polling stations. The United Nations besides says Thursday’s ballot was marred by “widespread repression and intimidation”.

On the time the country’s Electoral Commission announced Museveni’s win, Bobi Wine appeared successful a video connected societal media, telling supporters that helium was forced into hiding aft his location was raided by constabulary and different chartless individuals.

“I cognize they are looking for me, but adjacent if they win and get me, and bash whatever, I privation to accidental this to you chap Ugandans,” helium said connected video, “We cull immoderate is being declared by Mr Simon Byabakama [the seat of the Electoral Commission] due to the fact that those alleged results that they are declaring are fake and they don’t successful immoderate mode bespeak what happened astatine the polling stations.”

The absorption and its supporters accidental the authorities has violently cracked down connected dissent, shutting down the internet and arresting protesters.

Museveni has accused Bobi Wine’s enactment of trying to destabilise the country.

Ugandan authorities said the four-day net shutdown was a information measure aimed astatine preventing the dispersed of misinformation that could origin fearfulness and chaos.

The authorities besides said seven people were killed successful Butambala, with constabulary stating that protesters attempted to onslaught a polling presumption and a constabulary post. The NUP disputes this account, saying astatine slightest 10 radical were killed erstwhile constabulary fired astatine the location of a enactment official, a assertion Al Jazeera could not independently verify.

Speaking with Al Jazeera’s Catherine Soi successful an exclusive interrogation portion successful hiding, Bobi Wine condemned the government’s “crackdown to intimidate, to silence, and to subdue the forces of change”.

He besides alleged helium had “evidence” of fraud, videos showing “not the police, not the military, but electoral committee officials” ticking ballot papers successful favour of Museveni.

Al Jazeera: How are you? How’s your family?

Bobi Wine: I’m alive. I don’t cognize however my household is, but I effort to support successful interaction with my wife. She’s OK, she’s strong. [The information forces are] inactive astatine my home. Nobody’s allowed to entree the house.

Al Jazeera: The constabulary spokesperson told america that you are not nether arrest, that you are astatine home; obviously, you’re not. What bash you accidental to them?

Bobi Wine: I saw the constabulary spokesperson saying I’m successful my house. The aforesaid constabulary idiosyncratic said that the radical that were changeable and killed successful the location of my lawman president were really attacking the constabulary station. And yet they were wrong the house. You know, truthful overmuch goes on, and the shamelessness of the Ugandan authorities present is bottomless. You know, they’ll bash thing glaringly – and they prevarication astir it.

Al Jazeera: You’re talking astir the incident successful Butambala? Tell america astir what happened.

Bobi Wine: Ten radical were killed successful Butambala astatine the location of my lawman president. They were changeable dead. The constabulary changeable done the doorway of a garage, a car retention country and killed 10 people. But scores were besides killed successful Iganga. Many radical were killed successful Kawempe and galore different places.

So, 1 of the reasons wherefore I could not enactment location is that, arsenic a leader, I had to support successful interaction with these people; I had to springiness guidance. I had to beryllium successful interaction and cognize what is happening. It was highly unsafe for me. You’ve heard the caput of the military, who is General Museveni’s son, Muhoozi Kainerugaba, promising to cut disconnected my head, and we had earlier accusation that they were coming to harm me. So, successful that fracas erstwhile they raided my house, I utilized a fewer aged skills to get my mode out.

Bobi Wine addresses supporters during a rally.

Al Jazeera: The president has called you a traitor and a “terrorist” – you and different officials of your party. What bash you person to accidental to that?

Bobi Wine: It should beryllium known that successful each dictatorship, particularly present successful Africa, to tally against a dictator means being a terrorist, means being a traitor and everything. I mean, a priest, a Catholic clergyman called Father [Deusdedit] Ssekabira was arrested and General Museveni was talking astir him, saying the Catholic clergyman was arrested and detained incommunicado for much than 2 weeks for moving with me. But I was not arrested. Young radical are successful situation for their relation with maine and the enactment that I lead. But I, with the secretary-general and galore others, are not detained. This is simply a crackdown to intimidate, to soundlessness and to wholly subdue the forces of change; everybody that yearns for alteration and everybody that does not enactment General Museveni.

Al Jazeera: You person rejected the elections. You said that the predetermination is rigged. What grounds bash you have?

Bobi Wine: We person grounds before, we person grounds during and aft the election.

A time oregon 2 earlier the election, respective of our polling agents were picked up by the military. Some of them are inactive missing.

And past you person seen videos. They turned disconnected the internet. And this time, not the police, not the military, but electoral committee officials took portion successful ticking ballot papers successful favour of General Museveni. We person grounds of them. We person videos of them doing that, and we’ve started uploading them connected societal media. (Al Jazeera was incapable to verify videos connected societal media purporting to amusement officials filling successful ballot papers. The Electoral Commission spokesperson declined to talk to Al Jazeera astir this allegation.)

The Electoral Commission chairperson … announced results that cipher knows wherever they travel from. They were expected to prime them from the declaration of results forms and the territory tally sheets. Our agents were there; they had antithetic results connected the forms. But the Electoral Commission chairperson was declaring thing wholly different. So, we rejected.

Like we said to the radical before, that this was going to beryllium a protestation vote. We encouraged radical for much than a 100 days that should the dictatorship effort to subvert the dependable of the people, the radical of Uganda should emergence up according to Article 29 of our constitution and reclaim their voice. That is what we promote them to do.

Al Jazeera: And what does that mean? Protests?

Bobi Wine: That means nonviolent, legally accepted protests. It means protesting, it means rejecting the maltreatment of democracy, warring backmost against immoderate subversion of our democracy. Our constitution, Article 29, provides that the radical of Uganda tin protestation and show peacefully and unarmed. And that is precisely what we’ve encouraged them and proceed to promote them to do.

It could beryllium protesting connected the streets. Some of america started protesting by holding precocious the nationalist flag. Others tin protestation by staying astatine home. We gave it backmost to the radical of Uganda to find galore originative ways of protesting … to combat backmost successful the astir moral, law and ineligible mode possible.

Al Jazeera: And going to the Supreme Court is not an enactment for you?

Bobi Wine: The judicial strategy successful Uganda is not autarkic astatine all. In the erstwhile statesmanlike predetermination petitions, the Supreme Court has ordered for definite reforms – they’ve been wholly ignored. So we don’t person anticipation successful the judicial strategy of Uganda. That’s wherefore we’ve ever encouraged the radical of Uganda to beryllium the ones to instrumentality backmost their voice.

Al Jazeera: The authorities and information forces accused you and your supporters passim the predetermination of flouting electoral rules, possibly campaigning wherever campaigns are not expected to beryllium happening, and that’s wherefore you person been met with this benignant of unit and teardrop state and blocking rallies. What is your response?

Bobi Wine: That’s what they are saying. But the instrumentality arsenic it is successful Uganda permits a candidate, astir importantly a statesmanlike candidate, to run everyplace wherever determination are people. And so that run programme was confirmed and ratified by the Electoral Commission of Uganda. However, I was not allowed to adjacent thrust connected the main roads. I was not allowed to run successful cities oregon populated areas. I was ever sent to the bushes, but radical came there.

But also, the Electoral Commission was ne'er successful complaint of this election; the military took charge of this election. … I mean, if determination was thing incorrect that I did, if there’s thing that was against the law, I would person been apprehended a agelong clip ago.

Al Jazeera: There are immoderate Ugandans who subscribe to immoderate you’re saying, but there’s a batch of fearfulness successful the country. And they’re saying, OK, the predetermination is present done, truthful let’s conscionable determination on.

Bobi Wine: Moving connected is resigning to slavery. We’ve said it galore times that surviving nether a subject dictatorship for 40 years is similar slavery. Ugandans don’t person a right, they don’t person a voice. Uganda is an highly young state – the 2nd youngest state successful the satellite [by age], governed by a ruler who is implicit 80 years old.

Corruption is the bid of the day. The state is successful a mess. And we, arsenic a existent procreation – that are the parents of today, that are going to beryllium starting this state – it is our close and work to guarantee that we instrumentality complaint of our ain destiny.

Al Jazeera: And finally, you cannot spell home?

Bobi Wine: My crushed for not being location is to beryllium capable to talk to the world. If I was successful my house, you would not beryllium capable to entree me.

I would emotion to beryllium successful my home. I’ve not changed my apparel successful days. I privation to beryllium home. I privation to beryllium free. I privation to instrumentality attraction of my people.

But the subject and constabulary person taken implicit my home. They’ve vandalised my gate. They’ve chopped the padlocks. They’ve chopped powerfulness astatine my house. So they’ve much oregon little colonised my home.

Unfortunately, there’s nary regularisation of instrumentality successful Uganda. I cannot find redress with the courts. I cannot find redress with immoderate instauration of state. I conscionable person to combat backmost successful my ain crude, non-violent way.

Note: This interrogation has been edited for clarity and brevity.

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