Uganda’s fragile post-election calm shattered on Monday as General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, the powerful army chief and son of President Yoweri Museveni, issued a chilling public ultimatum to opposition leader Bobi Wine: surrender to police within 48 hours or be treated as an “outlaw or rebel.”
The dramatic threat, posted on social media, drew an immediate and defiant rebuttal from the National Unity Platform (NUP) leader, who accused security forces of a botched attempt to capture or harm him just days earlier.
In his statement, General Muhoozi – widely seen as a potential successor to his father – distanced President Museveni from his actions, declaring: “I exonerate my great and venerable father from what I’m going to do to Kabobi,” using a derogatory nickname for Wine.
Hours later, Bobi Wine fired back, claiming the general had personally ordered a nighttime raid on his Magere home. “You ordered the raid on my house to harm me,” he wrote, adding that he had “escaped” the operation and would only “resurface when I decide.”
“Anyway, I will resurface when I decide,” Wine declared. “Then you and your father can do whatever you want to me. But make no mistake – you will never escape the inevitable consequences of your atrocities against the people of Uganda. This is our country!”
The explosive exchange follows Wine’s allegations of a coordinated security assault on his residence late Friday night, January 16 – just a day after the contentious January 15 presidential election, in which Museveni was declared winner with over 70% of the vote amid widespread fraud claims.
Wine described a terrifying scene: power deliberately cut, CCTV cameras disabled, and helicopters circling overhead as military and police forces stormed the compound. He confirmed he managed to flee, easing fears of abduction, but said his wife and family remain confined under heavy guard.
“I want to confirm that I managed to escape from them,” he said in a statement on January 17, accompanied by photos purportedly showing military vehicles from the raid. “Currently, I am not at home, although my wife and other family members remain under house arrest.”
Ugandan police swiftly rejected the claims as “deceitful and incisive allegations intended to depict the security agencies as brutal.” Spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Kituuma Rusoke insisted no abduction occurred and accused Wine of spreading misinformation.
Wine attributed rumors of his capture to a nationwide internet blackout and the intense security lockdown around his home, which prevented access and fueled neighbor speculation.
The confrontation has heightened already simmering tensions after Museveni’s seventh-term victory, which Wine and international observers have condemned as rigged. As the clock ticks on Muhoozi’s deadline, Uganda braces for potential further unrest in a nation long gripped by political repression and dynastic power struggles.
