Ugandan opposition leader Bobi Wine says he has left the country

Ugandan opposition leader Bobi Wine said Saturday that he fled the country to escape a military search after a disputed presidential election in January, according to a video message posted on X.

Wine, whose real name is Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, said he had gone into hiding shortly after the Jan. 15 presidential election and that his location had been unknown to the general public for weeks.

In the video, Wine said, “Fellow Ugandans and friends of Uganda all over the world, by the time you see this video I will have left the country for some critical engagements outside Uganda.” He added, “And at the right time I will come back and continue with the cause.”

Wine also thanked “all of you fellow Ugandans who have concealed and protected me for all this time when the regime was looking for me,” and said it was impossible for Ugandan security operatives to find him “because the people have protected me.”

Official results from the Jan. 15 election showed President Yoweri Museveni won with 71.6% of the vote, a result Wine rejects as fake. Uganda’s army chief, Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba, is described in the report as posting threats on X involving Wine, and Kainerugaba has suggested Wine is wanted for unspecified crimes.

Police in Uganda, however, said they were not looking for Wine. The report said the hunt is being led by Kainerugaba, and it described his pattern of deleting offensive tweets after posting them.

The day after the election, the report said Ugandan soldiers raided Wine’s house, but Wine had already gone into hiding. It said Wine feared for his life after campaigning for weeks, including appearing at rallies with security forces present while wearing a helmet and flak jacket.

The report also said Kainerugaba has called Wine a “baboon” and a “terrorist.” It described Wine as one of seven candidates who ran against Museveni and said he has a large following among young people in urban areas, including people unemployed and angry with the government over official corruption and lack of economic opportunities.

Museveni, 81, is expected to be sworn in for a seventh term in May, bringing him closer to five decades in power, the report said. Supporters of Museveni credit him with relative peace and stability and said Uganda hosts hundreds of thousands fleeing violence elsewhere in the region, while opposition figures, including some former close allies, condemn what they see as a descent into authoritarianism.