Bobi Wine (Courtesy)
San Francisco, March 16, 2026
Savanna News Bulletin
Ugandan opposition leader Bobi Wine has fled the country, telling the BBC he feared for his life after Uganda’s disputed January presidential election, BBC reported.
In an exclusive interview from a secret location, the former pop star turned politician, whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, said he went into hiding for two months following the vote, evading repeated raids by security forces on his home and supporters’ residences. Wine accused President Yoweri Museveni’s regime of rigging the election, which official results showed Museveni winning with over 70% of the vote, and claimed military operatives had set up nationwide roadblocks to track him down.
Speaking after surfacing in a video on X (formerly Twitter), Wine said he left Uganda for “critical engagements” abroad to rally international pressure against Museveni, who has ruled since 1986 and was declared victor in the January 15 poll. He thanked ordinary Ugandans for shielding him during his time in hiding and vowed to return “at the right time” to continue the struggle, insisting that running for president is not a crime.
The dramatic exit escalates tensions after post-election violence that Wine’s camp blames on security forces, with reports of dozens of opposition supporters killed. Museveni has accused Wine’s National Unity Platform of fomenting unrest to overturn the results, while his son and military chief has publicly targeted the opposition leader. Wine’s departure hands temporary leadership of his party to his deputy, Lina Zedriga.
For East African listeners, Wine’s flight underscores deepening authoritarian trends across the region and raises questions about the space for opposition ahead of Museveni’s May inauguration for a seventh term. Regional activists and diaspora groups are already mobilizing in solidarity, calling for sanctions and protection for Wine and his followers.
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