Uganda Opposition Presidential candidate Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, famously known as Bobi Wine of the National Unity Platform (NUP), shows the ink on his finger after casting his vote, during the Presidential election at a polling station, in Kampala, Uganda, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026.
| Photo Credit: AP
Veteran President Yoweri Museveni was the landslide winner of Uganda’s presidential election, the chief of the electoral commission said on Saturday (January 17, 2026).
With this, Mr. Museveni, 81, extends his 40-year rule in an election marred by reports of at least 10 deaths and intimidation of the opposition and civil society.
Meanwhile, Ugandan Opposition leader Bobi Wine said Saturday (January 17, 2026) that he had escaped a police raid on his home and was in hiding as the country braced for the results of a fraught election held under an internet blackout.
Uganda’s army denied claims on Saturday (January 17, 2026) that Opposition leader Bobi Wine had been abducted from his home. Mr. Wine said on Friday (January 16) that he was under house arrest, and his party later wrote on X that he had been “forcibly taken” by an army helicopter from his compound.
The army denied that claim, “The rumours of his so-called arrest are baseless and unfounded,” army spokesman Chris Magezi told AFP. “They are designed to incite his supporters into acts of violence,” he added.
Ahead of the final results, there were conflicting reports about Wine’s whereabouts, following claims that police and the army had raided his home on Friday (January 16, 2026) night.
“I want to confirm that I managed to escape from them,” Mr. Wine posted on X on Saturday. “Currently, I am not at home, although my wife and other family members remain under house arrest.
“I know that these criminals are looking for me everywhere, and I am trying my best to keep safe,” he added.
There was a heavy police presence around the capital, Kampala, AFP journalists saw, with security forces forcing people off the streets as they sought to prevent the sort of protests that have hit neighbouring Kenya and Tanzania in recent months.
Mr. Wine, 43, whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi, has emerged as the main challenger to Mr. Museveni in recent years, styling himself the “ghetto president” after the slum areas where he grew up in the capital, Kampala.
He has accused the government of “massive ballot stuffing” and attacking several of his party officials under cover of the internet blackout, which was imposed ahead of Thursday’s polls and remained in place on Saturday (January 17, 2026).
His claims could not be independently verified, but the United Nations rights office said last week that the elections were taking place in an environment marked by “widespread repression and intimidation” against the opposition.
Reports of violence
Analysts have long viewed the election as a formality.
Mr. Museveni, a former guerrilla fighter who seized power in 1986, has total control over the state and security apparatus, and has ruthlessly crushed any challenger during his rule.
Election day was marred by significant technical problems after biometric machines — used to confirm voters’ identities —malfunctioned and ballot papers were undelivered for several hours in many areas.
There were reports of violence against the opposition in other parts of the country.
Muwanga Kivumbi, member of parliament for Mr. Wine’s party in the Butambala area of central Uganda, told AFP’s Nairobi office by phone that security forces had killed 10 of his campaign agents after storming his home.
With inputs from Reuters, AFP
Published – January 17, 2026 11:52 am IST
