In brief
Muwanga Kivumbi, a deputy leader of the National Unity Platform (NUP) and ally of Bobi Wine, has been arrested by Uganda Police for allegedly organizing violent attacks in the aftermath of recent elections. Opposition figures have condemned the arrests during a time of political unrest, as tensions escalate following President Yoweri Museveni's re-election.
Ugandan police have detained a lawmaker, and close ally of opposition leader Bobi Wine, for his alleged role in election-related violence last week.
Muwanga Kivumbi, a deputy leader of Wine's National Unity Platform (NUP), is accused of organising attacks on a police station and a vote-tallying center after their electoral loss, which the party denies.
The police have said that seven people were killed in the incident, but the politician has given a different account, saying that 10 people were killed at his home as they waited for parliamentary election results.
The Uganda Police Force stated that Kivumbi would be arraigned before court in due course and that his arrest is in connection with recent incidents of political violence.
Kivumbi's arrest follows tensions after last week's elections in which President Yoweri Museveni was re-elected for a seventh term.
During his victory speech, Museveni warned opposition figures including Kivumbi of coordinated plans to attack polling stations. He stated that seven people were shot dead by police after groups of alleged opposition supporters, armed with machetes, attempted to carry out violent attacks in Butambala district outside the capital, Kampala.
Wine has denounced the results as fake, alleging electoral fraud. He has also stated that there was a silent massacre underway and a crackdown targeting political activists. According to reports, the Ugandan authorities have arrested dozens of youths on various charges linked to election-related incidents in Kampala.
Museveni first came to power as a rebel leader in 1986 and will have served for 45 years when the next term ends in 2031. Uganda has not witnessed a peaceful transfer of presidential power since independence.
