Ugandan police have detained a lawmaker, and close ally of opposition leader Bobi Wine, over his alleged role in last week’s election-related violence.
Muwanga Kivumbi, a deputy leader of Wine’s National Unity Platform (NUP), has been accused of organizing attacks on a police station and a vote-tallying center following their election defeat, which the party has denied.
The police said that seven people died in the incident, but the politician gave a different account, saying that 10 people were killed in his house while they were waiting for the results of the parliamentary elections.
The Uganda Police Force said in a post on X on Thursday that Kivumbi “will be arraigned before the court in due course”.
“His arrest is in connection with recent incidents of political violence,” it added.
Kivumbi’s arrest follows tensions following last week’s election in which President Yoweri Museveni was re-elected for a seventh term.
During his victory speech at the weekend, Museveni warned opposition figures including Kivumbi of coordinated plans to attack polling stations.
He said seven people were shot dead by police after groups of alleged opposition supporters, armed with machetes, attempted to carry out violent attacks in Butambala district outside the capital, Kampala.
Alak, Museveni’s closest challenger and who is in hiding after fleeing an attack on his home after the election, denounced the results as “fake”, citing electoral fraud.
He also alleged that a “silent massacre” was being carried out and a crackdown targeting political activists.
On Tuesday, he posted on social media that more than 100 people had been killed in election violence, without citing evidence.
This came after Ugandan army chief Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba, who is also Museveni’s son and his potential successor, said security forces had killed 22 opposition supporters during poll-related violence.
Since the election, Ugandan authorities have reportedly arrested several youths on various charges linked to election-related incidents in Kampala.
Museveni first came to power as the leader of the rebels in 1986. He will serve for 45 years when his next term ends in 2031.
Uganda has not witnessed a peaceful transfer of presidential power since independence.