Ugandan opposition leader tells BBC he fled abroad fearing for his life

Bobi Wine told the BBC that he left Uganda because he "feared for his life following January's disputed election." Speaking to Newshour from an undisclosed location after spending two months in hiding in Uganda, he said: "It was clear that the regime wanted to eliminate me." He announced he had fled the country in a video posted on X.

Wine repeated his claim that the election had been rigged in favor of Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni, who has been in power since 1986. Museveni, 81, won with 72% of the vote and accused the opposition of seeking to overturn the results through violence. Wine, 44, said that during his two months in hiding he had been sheltered by supporters. He said Museveni had tried "many times" to have him killed and that the president's son had "made it clearer without any filters." Museveni's son, Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba, said Wine was "wanted dead or alive" and also threatened to castrate him. Some government members have denied that the security forces have been looking for him.

Wine said he could not give details of how or when he had left Uganda. He voiced fears for those in his party, the National Unity Platform, who remained in Uganda, including his deputy, Lina Zedriga, who he had named as his temporary successor. Wine's video on X, posted on Saturday, called for targeted international sanctions against Museveni. He alleged that the authorities had repeatedly raided the homes of his supporters looking for him, including as recently as Thursday, as well as set up roadblocks around the country. He said that his house in the capital, Kampala, was still surrounded by the military, as it has been since election day. Following protests against the election results