Human Rights Commission despatches team to Bobi Wine’s residence

The Uganda Human Rights Commission (UHRC) has dispatched a team of officers to establish the circumstances surrounding the reported confinement of National Unity Platform (NUP) presidential candidate Bobi Wine, following the conclusion of the presidential and parliamentary elections.

Speaking to the media, UHRC chairwoman Mariam Wangadya said the commission had taken the step after conflicting reports emerged regarding the opposition leader’s safety and freedom of movement. 

She explained that the team had been instructed to seek direct engagement with Bobi Wine and assess the situation independently. 

“I should inform you and the country that I have sent a team from our office to go and have an interaction with Bobi Wine. We hope that they will have access to him, and we hope that he too will agree to speak to them,” Wangadya said, adding that she was awaiting a formal report from the team.

Wangadya stressed that contesting for political office “is not and should not be a crime" and said the commission needed clarity if it was true that Bobi Wine was under house arrest. 

“If it’s true that Hon Bobi Wine is under house arrest, we need to know why, and it is the reason I sent my team to talk to him,” she said.

The development follows claims by Bobi Wine that he had escaped a police and army raid on his home. 

In a statement, he said he was no longer at his residence, although his wife and other family members remained under house arrest. He alleged that security forces were actively searching for him and that he was trying to keep safe.

Earlier on Friday, Bobi Wine said security forces had placed him under house arrest, while his party later wrote on X that he had been “forcibly taken” from his residence by an army helicopter. 

The military rejected the claim, with army spokesperson Chris Magezi describing the allegations as baseless and designed to incite violence.

Wangadya noted that police had explained their presence as part of routine security deployments, adding that every presidential candidate was assigned security. She said the commission would reserve its position until it received the team’s findings.