Ugandan musician turned politician Robert Kyagulanyi commonly known as Bobi Wine has on Thursday been arrested by police.
Bobi Wine who is the president of Uganda’s leading opposition party, National Unity Platform (NUP) has been arrested at Uganda’s international airport at Entebbe just as he was getting off the plane.He was returning from a two weeks trip in Canada and South Africa where he has been meeting members of his party living in diaspora.
His party, NUP’s Secretary general,David Rubongoya said in a media interview in the country’s capital Kampala that their leader Bobi Wine had been arrested by police at Entebbe airport just as he was getting off the plane and whisked to an unknown destination.
He said “We are not happy about what has happened to our president.He was picked off the plane and driven to an unknown destination. Up to now, we cannot speculate his whereabouts.”
Hundreds of his supporters from all over the country had been mobilized by the party to go and welcome him at the airport and later escort him to his home in a convoy of motorcycles and vehicles.However police stopped them from reaching the airport and a over a dozen who were forcing their way to the airport have been arrested and are being held at Entebbe police station.
Uganda police has said that Bobi Wine was picked from the airport and driven straight to his home located about 15 KMs from Kampala. Kampala Metropolitan Police spokesman Patrick Onyango said they did that to stop his supporters from causing chaos. He said they had to stop the supporters from holding a procession which they had anticipated would paralyze travel on Entebbe -Kampala highway.
“Such a procession has the potential to disrupt the normal flow of traffic ,the movement of individuals and the operations of business at the airport and along the route from Entebbe to his home,” Onyango said.
Later police issued a statement saying,” The president of NUP, Bobi Wine has returned from his overseas trip. Security agencies accompanied him to his residence .We extend our appreciation to the security agencies for their efforts in maintaining the safety and security of the nation.
