{"id":128806,"date":"2026-01-16T14:02:51","date_gmt":"2026-01-16T14:02:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/opposition-supporters-killed-in-overnight-clashes-as-uganda-president-takes-election-lead\/"},"modified":"2026-01-16T14:02:51","modified_gmt":"2026-01-16T14:02:51","slug":"opposition-supporters-killed-in-overnight-clashes-as-uganda-president-takes-election-lead","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/opposition-supporters-killed-in-overnight-clashes-as-uganda-president-takes-election-lead\/","title":{"rendered":"Opposition supporters killed in overnight clashes as Uganda president takes election lead"},"content":{"rendered":"

At least seven Ugandan opposition supporters were killed overnight in disputed circumstances, as President Yoweri Museveni has taken a strong lead in results from Thursday\u2019s presidential election.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The opposition say they were attacked by security forces in the home of an MP in Butambala, about 55km (35 miles) south-west of the capital, Kampala, while police blame the violence on the opposition.<\/p>\n

Figures announced by the electoral commission on Friday afternoon put Museveni in front with 75% of the votes, based on returns from 60% of polling stations.<\/p>\n

He is followed by opposition leader Bobi Wine on 21%.<\/p>\n

His home in Kampala has been surrounded by security forces \u201ceffectively placing him and his wife under house arrest\u201d, Wine\u2019s National Unity Platform (NUP) said.<\/p>\n

The internet shutdown imposed earlier in the week means news of the violence is only emerging on Friday in Uganda.<\/p>\n

Opposition MP Muwanga Kivumbi told the AFP news agency that soldiers and police fired tear gas and then live bullets at hundreds of people who were following early results at his home.<\/p>\n

\u201cTen were killed inside my house,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Human rights activist Agather Atuhaire confirmed this account to the Reuters news agency.<\/p>\n

However, local police spokesperson Lydia Tumushabe disputes this, maintaining police fired in self defence after a \u201ca group of NUP goons\u201d had attacked a police station and planned to overrun a tallying centre.<\/p>\n

She told Reuters they were carrying machetes, axes and boxes of matches and said at least seven people had been killed.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, some local journalists say security forces have blocked them from accessing the opposition leader\u2019s home in Kampala\u2019s Magere area.<\/p>\n

\u201cSecurity officers have unlawfully jumped over the perimeter fence and are now erecting tents within his compound,\u201d the NUP posted on X late on Thursday.<\/p>\n

Police spokesman Kituuma Rusoke told local broadcaster NBS that as a presidential contestant, Wine was \u201ca person of interest\u201d, adding that the heavy security deployment around his home was for his own security.<\/p>\n

Following the 2021 election, in which he garnered 35% of the vote, Wine was confined to his home for several days by security forces.<\/p>\n

Electoral chief Simon Byabakama said on Friday that the vote counting had not been affected by the internet blackout imposed earlier in the week, as the commission was using a \u201cprivate system\u201d to transmit results from districts to the national tally centre.<\/p>\n

Asked about the timing of the final results announcement, Byabakama said: \u201cWe are on course to announce the winner of the presidential election within 48 hours. Before 5 PM [14:00 GMT] tomorrow, we shall have the final results.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ugandans voted in a tense national election on Thursday after an often violent campaign, with President Museveni, 81, seeking a seventh term in office.<\/p>\n

Wine, a 43-year-old pop star-turned-politician, has alleged \u201cmassive\u201d fraud during the election, which was held under an internet blackout. He did not provide documentary proof and the authorities have not responded to his allegations.<\/p>\n

Last week, the United Nation\u2019s Human Rights Office said that the election would be marked by \u201cwidespread repression and intimidation\u201d.<\/p>\n

During Thursday\u2019s vote, voting was delayed by up to four hours in many polling stations around the country as ballot boxes were slow to arrive and biometric machines, used to verify voters\u2019 identity, did not work properly.<\/p>\n

Some have linked the problems to the network outage.<\/p>\n

Although there are other six candidates, the presidential poll is essentially a two-horse race between Museveni and Wine, but given the president has won the six previous elections, analysts say he is likely to further extend his time in power.<\/p>\n

Wine, who says he represents the youth in a country where most of the population is aged under 30, has promised to tackle corruption and impose sweeping reforms, while Museveni argues he is the sole guarantor of stability and progress in the country.<\/p>\n

The campaign period was marred by the disruption of opposition activities \u2013 security forces have been accused of assaulting and detaining Wine\u2019s supporters.<\/p>\n

Police spokesperson Kituuma Rusoke dismissed these complaints, accusing opposition supporters of being disruptive.<\/p>\n

Internet access was suspended on Tuesday, with Uganda\u2019s Communications Commission saying the blackout was necessary to prevent misinformation, fraud and the incitement of violence \u2013 a move condemned by the UN human rights office as \u201cdeeply worrying\u201d.<\/p>\n

Wine, whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi, had called on his supporters to protest, if Thursday\u2019s election results were manipulated.<\/p>\n

However, as of Friday morning, there have been no signs of any demonstrations.<\/p>\n

A Museveni victory would extend the former rebel leader\u2019s four-decade grip on power. He is widely believed to favour his son, military chief Muhoozi Kainerugaba, as his successor, though he denies grooming him for the role.<\/p>\n

The final presidential result is expected be announced by 16:00 local time (13:00 GMT) on Saturday, according to the electoral commission.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

At least seven Ugandan opposition supporters were killed overnight in disputed circumstances, as President Yoweri Museveni has taken a strong lead in results from Thursday\u2019s presidential election. The opposition say they were attacked by security forces in the home of an MP in Butambala, about 55km (35 miles) south-west of the capital, Kampala, while police […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-128806","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","entry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/128806","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=128806"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/128806\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=128806"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=128806"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=128806"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}