RismadarVoice Reporters
January 17, 2026
Ugandan President, Yoweri Museveni has won a seventh term in office following an election overshadowed by violence, arrests of opposition figures and a nationwide internet shutdown.
The country’s Electoral Commission on Saturday declared Museveni winner of Thursday’s presidential election with 71.65 percent of the vote, extending his rule of the East African nation to four decades.
His closest challenger, opposition leader, Bobi Wine, polled 24.72 percent.
The election was conducted amid reports of intimidation, arrests and alleged abductions of opposition members, with African election observers warning that such actions created fear and undermined public confidence in the process.
Museveni, 81, has been in power since 1986.
Bobi Wine, a 43-year-old former pop star turned politician whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi, rejected the results and said he was in hiding after security forces allegedly raided his home on Friday night.
“I want to confirm that I managed to escape from them,” Wine said in a post on X on Saturday, adding that his wife and other family members were under house arrest. He accused authorities of searching for him nationwide.
Ugandan police denied raiding Wine’s residence, saying instead that security operatives had restricted access to what they described as “security hotspots.”
“We cannot tolerate situations where people use his residence to incite violence,” police spokesperson Kituuma Rusoke told journalists, adding that police believed Wine was still at home.
However, residents near Wine’s residence reported a heavy security presence, including helicopters and drones.
