The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Uganda’s power struggle enters a new phase
COVER STORY | IAN KATUSIIME | What will Robert Kyagulanyi, also known as Bobi Wine, do next? Will he emerge from hiding, and if so, when? These are the questions on many minds as the 2026 presidential candidate enters his third week in seclusion.
His home in Magere remains under heavy security, with army and police personnel barring anyone from entering—including several of his siblings, who were blocked by the military when they visited on Jan.28.
Uganda’s Chief of Defence Forces Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba keeps taunting and threatening the life of Bobi Wine and his family on X.
“We are most certainly hunting Kabobi. He is wanted Dead or Alive! It doesn’t matter how long it takes us, we will get him.” That was on Jan 30 at 1am.
Muhoozi posted a photo of Bobi’s wife Barbie Kyagulanyi, seated on the floor in distress during the raid at their home on Jan.24. In the photo that has sparked anger and vitriol, she is surrounded by soldiers.
She said the soldiers assaulted her and demanded that she give up her husband’s location. The men were believed to be Uganda Peoples Defence Forces soldiers, and some belonging to the Special Forces Command (SFC), numbering about three dozen, according to Barbie.
Barbie was later rushed to Nsambya Hospital but the home remains in a military zone sealed off from anyone. The military are surveilling the entire neighbourhood located in Wakiso district, a few miles outside Kampala. Sources said security officers are stopping residents in Magere to check their phones for photos and videos of Bobi Wine and anyone found with photos is promptly detained.
Bobi Wine has taunted security by posting videos of himself in Kampala and at his ancestral home in Gomba, engaging in what appears to be psychological warfare while evading a manhunt.
The president of the National Unity Platform (NUP), the main opposition party, has said that he will re-appear at an appropriate time. His home is under 24/7 surveillance and police have mounted roadblocks at various locations including the road to Entebbe International Airport in search of Bobi Wine.
Deliberations in parliament
In parliament, Joel Senyonyi, Leader of Opposition raised the issue of the siege at Bobi’s home. “If there is an offence that Hon. Kyagulanyi Robert Ssentamu is suspected of having committed, whether related to running for the presidency, why haven’t summons been served on him?”
Ssenyonyi asked the Deputy Speaker of Parliament Thomas Tayebwa if it was official that Kyagulanyi is under house arrest. Ministers and government officials are scrambling to spin the state of affairs at Bobi Wine’s home after uproar from the public and members of the opposition.
Chris Baryomunsi, minister for information and Gen. David Muhoozi, the Minister of State for Internal Affairs, are some of the government bigwigs who have taken fire for their statements trying to whitewash the situation at Bobi Wine’s home.
Baryomunsi said the state is not looking for Bobi Wine. He added, “There’s light deployment at his home not to harass anybody but for Ugandans not to use his home as a public disorder hub. It is for security interests.”
Muhoozi said the opposition politician’s home is not a gazetted prison. “Hon Kyagulanyi himself is not there.”
The dissonance from the ministers and the CDF speaks to the state of military rule that the country has descended to in recent months. Muhoozi, the President’s son, is the most powerful CDF Uganda has had. He tweets as he wishes, targets political opponents and gets away with it.
Security operatives raided Bobi Wine’s home on the night of January 24, breaking doors and windows, overturning furniture, and destroying televisions and documents, according to photos of the raid shared on social media.They ransacked the house, which now remains under siege—a scenario that has become all too common in Uganda following presidential elections.
Past vibrant challengers, most notably Dr. Kizza Besigye, President Yoweri Museveni’s former personal doctor during the bush war, have faced similar post-election harassment, often in the form of house arrests or restrictions preventing visitors from accessing them.
Bobi Wine rejected the results of the Jan. 15 election where President Museveni was declared winner with 71%. He vowed not to petition the Supreme Court arguing the court is under state capture.
Three of Bobi Wine’s deputies in the National Unity Platform are in detention. Muwanga Kivumbi, his deputy for Buganda, was remanded to Kitalya prison on terrorism charges; his deputy for northern Uganda, Lina Zedriga; and the deputy for western Uganda, Jolly Tukamushaba, were abducted by security operatives on Jan. 14 and their whereabouts remain unknown.
NUP is under a state of siege with its top leaders incarcerated. NUP MPs have confessed fears of their impending arrest and some of the party supporters are constantly on alert following routine security sweeps in areas that voted for the party massively.
Scores abducted
Security forces have reportedly abducted scores of people in Nansana, Gayaza, and several other parts of Kampala following the election. The party secured 51 seats in Parliament and also won numerous mayoral and councillorship positions in subsequent local elections. However, the deployment of the military across Kampala and other towns has heightened tensions nationwide.
On January 28, NUP leaders attended a habeas corpus hearing at the High Court for Zedriga, only for the state to submit an affidavit claiming they do not have her. With Bobi Wine in hiding, NUP Secretary General David Lewis Rubongoya has assumed much of the responsibility for leading the party during this tumultuous period, as supporters continue to be detained en masse by security forces.
In parliament, Ssenyonyi vowed to keep tabling the issue of abductions. “It is unacceptable that people keep getting abducted and their whereabouts are not known for one day, a week, two months and more. Why can’t people be produced in court?” he said.
The re-elected MP for Nakawa West pummeled. “If you hold me somewhere, family cannot access me, lawyers cannot access me, what do you want us to do?”
Bright Muhumuza, NUP coordinator for the Ankole region and a candidate for the Mbarara City South seat, was abducted a day before the election. The party has had no contact with him since.
Rubongoya led a team of NUP leaders to Kitalya Prison to check on Kivumbi, who was remanded until February 3, 2026, as the case awaits committal to the High Court. The delegation included NUP Treasurer Benjamin Katana, NUP lawyers George Musisi, MP-elect for Kira Municipality Jonathan Elotu, and other party officials.
Muhoozi rampage
Meanwhile, Muhoozi has continued his attacks on the opposition. The Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) has targeted both Bobi Wine and the NUP as an organization, at one point suggesting he could bar the party from future political activities.
Muhoozi has also boasted about the arrest of NUP supporters during the recently concluded election, with hundreds detained and jailed across the country. The 2026 election witnessed levels of state-sponsored violence against the opposition comparable to those seen in 2021.
With the election over, Muhoozi has now turned the army’s focus onto Bobi Wine and NUP with party leaders, supporters and their homes under lock and key.
Muhoozi has also clashed with diplomats, taking to Twitter to allege a supposed plot by the US embassy to facilitate Bobi Wine’s escape into exile. He later deleted the tweets, stating that he had spoken with the US Ambassador to Uganda.
Interestingly, a previous CDF would likely have faced dismissal and charges in the General Court Martial for making such overtly political statements.
President Museveni, the commander in chief, known for being a strict disciplinarian when it comes to military issues, has let his son get away with a host of indiscretions since he appointed him to the highest army rank in March 2024.
Previous holders of the position like Gen. Wilson Mbadi, Gen. David Muhoozi, Gen. Katumba Wamala, Gen. Aronda Nyakairima steered clear of controversy and politics besides the occasional statements on security. But Muhoozi, the President’s son, often fires off tweets on regional politics, Kenya, intrigue in government and his desire to be president of Uganda.
Muhoozi takes it a notch further and discusses internal army issues on social media. But the army chief’s most audacious move has been founding and leading a political party in the last few years. Muhoozi is the chairman of Patriotic League of Uganda (PLU) with a full secretariat.
The PLU secretariat is composed of individuals like Balam Barugahara, minister of state for youth; Lillian Aber, minister of state for disaster preparedness, Michael Mawanda and Kassanda MP Daudi Kabanda.
The CDF makes appointments in the party, chairs meetings and is active in political mobilisation contrary to the UPDF Code of Conduct that bars serving army officers from engaging in partisan politics.
