Bobi Wine clashes with police in kampala

Pop star-turned-politician Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, widely known as Bobi Wine, has stepped up campaigning across Kampala ahead of Uganda’s January 2026 presidential election, drawing renewed clashes with security forces. Video from a rally in Kawempe shows police dispersing crowds and white plumes of smoke as officers sought to break up gatherings. Witnesses and party officials say police blocked roads, fired tear gas and used batons at multiple locations where Wine attempted to address supporters; several people were reported injured and some detained, though police did not immediately confirm arrests.

The Electoral Commission has registered more than 21.6 million voters for the January vote and formally cautioned security agencies against interfering with campaign activities, asserting its commitment to a level playing field. Police defended their actions by saying the gatherings were unauthorized, posed public order risks and could not take place outside the official campaign period; authorities described their response as necessary to prevent disorder and traffic disruption. NUP, Wine’s National Unity Platform, rejected that account, calling the moves harassment designed to block the opposition from mobilizing and engaging voters.

Social media footage showed supporters fleeing tear gas and being chased from rally sites, with those on the ground reporting coughing and panic. Bobi Wine accused the government of deploying security forces to intimidate citizens and curtail political freedoms, framing the incidents as part of a wider pattern of repression seen in previous election cycles. He finished second in the 2021 presidential race, an election observers said was marred by violence, arrests of opposition figures and campaigning restrictions.

Human rights groups warned that heavy-handed policing risks escalating tensions and undermining confidence in the electoral process, urging authorities to respect rights of assembly and expression. The government, while asserting it will follow constitutional timelines for the election and urging all actors to abide by the law, has repeatedly denied accusations of politically motivated repression and said it is enforcing laws evenly to maintain stability.

Analysts say confrontations between the opposition and security forces are likely to continue as Bobi Wine presses outreach efforts, keeping political tensions high in the run-up to the official campaign season.