Uganda police have detained opposition lawmaker Muwanga Kivumbi, vice president of the National Unity Platform (NUP) party, in connection with election-related violence that left at least seven people dead.
Kivumbi’s arrest comes after disputed accounts of clashes between security forces and his supporters emerged, with police alleging that machete-wielding opposition “goons” attacked a police station and vote-tallying centre. Kivumbi, however, claims that people were killed inside his house, where they were waiting for election results, and described the incident as a “massacre”.
The detained lawmaker is a senior official of NUP, headed by Bobi Wine, who has been in hiding since last week after a military raid on his house. Wine had fled hours before President Yoweri Museveni was declared the winner of the January 15 presidential election.
The opposition has alleged widespread fraud, including ballot stuffing and kidnapping of agents and supporters, and urged the African Union to intervene.
Museveni’s son, Muhoozi Kainerugaba, who is head of the military, has been speculated to succeed him as Uganda’s leader. Kainerugaba has previously threatened Bobi Wine, claiming that 22 NUP “terrorists” were killed and warning that Wine would be next.
