Uganda’s military chief said authorities have detained about 2,000 opposition supporters and killed at least 30 others following a disputed presidential election that handed his father, President Yoweri Museveni, a seventh term in office.
In a series of overnight posts on X on Friday, army chief Muhoozi Kainerugaba described supporters of opposition leader Bobi Wine as “terrorists” and said security forces were still hunting down more.
“So far we have killed 30 NUP terrorists,” Kainerugaba wrote, referring to Wine’s National Unity Platform, without providing details on how the deaths occurred. “Most NUP terrorist leaders are in hiding. We shall get them all,” he added.
Museveni, 81, who has ruled Uganda for nearly four decades, was declared the winner of the January 15 election, held amid a nationwide internet blackout.
Opposition rejects election result
Wine, a former pop star whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi, rejected the result, alleging widespread irregularities including ballot stuffing, and later went into hiding.
The government has accused Wine’s supporters of inciting violence during the vote, while the opposition says its members were targeted by security forces.
Police declined to comment further, and the military did not immediately respond to requests for clarification.
The crackdown has drawn international concern.
UN is alarmed by reports
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Thursday he was alarmed by reports of arrests and violence involving opposition figures and urged restraint and respect for Uganda’s human rights obligations.
Wine has said hundreds of his supporters have been illegally detained in recent months because of their political affiliation, accusing authorities of intimidation.
Opposition parties and rights activists say some detainees are being held in unofficial detention centres where torture is alleged.
Tensions intensified this week with the arrest of opposition lawmaker Muwanga Kivumbi, a senior NUP figure and Wine’s deputy, who was detained on Thursday and later appeared in court on terrorism charges.
He was remanded in custody until February 3, according to rights group Agora Discourse. Two other senior NUP officials have reportedly been missing for days.
Wine, 43, said he fled his home after security forces raided it shortly after the election.
Kainerugaba, widely seen as Museveni’s preferred successor, has previously expressed presidential ambitions, fuelling concerns that the post-election crackdown is also consolidating power ahead of a future transition.
