Uganda’s main opposition leader, Bobi Wine, was shot in the leg by security forces on Tuesday in a northern suburb of Kampala, according to his party.
Wine, whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi, has emerged as the strongest rival to long-serving President Yoweri Museveni.
In the 2021 presidential election, Wine finished as runner-up behind Museveni, who has governed Uganda for nearly four decades.
The National Unity Platform, Bobi Wine’s party, posted on the X platform that security agents “made an attempt on his life” and that he “was shot in the leg and seriously injured.”
According to the police, officers tried to prevent Wine and his team from marching down a road, leading to an altercation in which Wine was injured.
The police have stated that an investigation will be conducted to determine the details of the incident.
The police reported conflicting accounts of Bobi Wine’s injury: officers on site claimed he stumbled while entering his vehicle, while Wine and his team insist he was shot.
A widely circulated video on social media shows Wine being assisted out of Najeem Medical Centre in Bulindo, with a bleeding wound on his left shin and evident pain.
National Unity Platform (NUP) Secretary General David Lewis Rubongoya condemned the incident as a “cowardly action” and criticized the ongoing violence against those opposing President Museveni’s regime.
He called for condemnation from all people of conscience. Museveni’s government has faced accusations from opponents and human rights groups of suppressing dissent, which Museveni denies.
Bobi Wine has garnered significant support among Uganda’s youth, drawn by his inspiring rags-to-riches journey from a ghetto pop star to a prominent political figure.
In recent years, his outspoken criticism of President Museveni’s government has further bolstered his appeal in the country of 46 million.
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