Uganda’s army has denied claims that opposition leader Bobi Wine was abducted from his home, as vote counting continued in an election marked by violence and an ongoing internet blackout.
Wine said on Friday that security forces had placed him under house arrest. His party later wrote on X that he had been “forcibly taken” from his residence by an army helicopter.
The military rejected the allegation.
“The rumours of his so-called arrest are baseless and unfounded,” army spokesperson Chris Magezi told AFP in a statement on Saturday. “They are designed to incite his supporters into acts of violence,” he added.
In a report, the AFP news agency said there was calm outside Wine’s residence early on Saturday, but communication disruptions prevented contact with his party.
Wine’s political party on Friday said the opposition presidential candidate was “forcibly” removed from his home and taken to an “unknown destination” in an army helicopter.
Wine, the country’s top opposition figure, had challenged longtime President Yoweri Museveni in an election campaign that the United Nations said was marred by “widespread repression and intimidation”.
Reporting from the Ugandan capital Kampala early on Saturday, Al Jazeera’s Catherine Soi said the internet shutdown has made getting information about Wine’s whereabouts difficult.
Soi said a National Unity Platform official contacted by Al Jazeera could only confirm that “men who appeared to be military and other security agents jumped over the fence” of Wine’s home. But the official could not say whether Wine was at home or had been taken away.
Soi added that Al Jazeera has been unable to reach the Ugandan military or the police to confirm what happened.
She noted that shortly after Thursday’s vote, Wine had alleged in a social media post that “massive ballot stuffing” was reported across the country. He had also called on the Ugandan people to “rise to the occasion and reject the criminal regime”.
Wine’s remarks came as Museveni’s government has been accused of leading a years-long crackdown on opposition politicians and their supporters.
The 81-year-old president is seeking to extend his nearly four decades in power, saying ahead of this week’s election that he expected to secure 80 percent support.
Museveni was comfortably leading as votes were counted on Friday, with the Electoral Commission saying he had secured 73.7 percent support to Wine’s 22.7 percent, with close to 81 percent of votes counted.
Final results are due around 4pm local time in Kampala (13:00 GMT) on Saturday.
After a campaign marred by clashes at opposition rallies and the arrests of opposition supporters, voting passed peacefully on Thursday.
But at least seven people were killed when violence broke out overnight in the town of Butambala, about 55km (35 miles) southwest of the capital Kampala.
Local police spokesperson Lydia Tumushabe said machete-wielding opposition “goons” organised by local MP Muwanga Kivumbi attacked a police station and vote-tallying centre.
Kivumbi, a member of Wine’s party, said security forces attacked opposition supporters who had gathered at his home to wait for the election results to come in. The opposition lawmaker said 10 people were killed.
“After killing them, the military continued firing,” Kivumbi told the AFP news agency. “And they ensured that they removed all the evidence of the dead. You only have a pool of blood that is left here.”