Uganda Police deny plot to arrest Bobi Wine, vow peaceful elections
By Mustafa Juma, January 2, 2026The Uganda Police Force (UPF) has dismissed claims of a scheme to arrest and detain the National Unity Platform (NUP) presidential candidate Robert Kyagulanyi Sentamu, popularly known as Bobi Wine, before the polling day.
In a statement shared via X on Friday, January 2, 2026, UPF stated that the assertions are unfounded and provocative.
“The Uganda Police Force categorically dismisses allegations of a scheme to detain candidate Kyagulanyi Sentamu or engineer incidents before election day. These assertions are unfounded and provocative,” UPF stated.
Security for Bobi Wine
The Ugandan police further noted that it has been providing security for Bobi Wine throughout his campaign activities, ensuring his safety.
The police also pointed out that all apprehensions occur strictly in line with legal guidelines, with detainees undergoing full processing in compliance with the law.
“UPF provides security for the NUP candidate throughout his campaign activities, ensuring his safety. Our effort is geared to facilitate tranquil elections, and we call on every political actor to promote non-violence. All apprehensions occur strictly in line with legal guidelines, with detainees processed in full compliance with the law,” the statement read.
Bobi Wine’s concerns
Bobi Wine had raised alarm over what he says is a coordinated plan by the state to arrest him ahead of polling day, warning that the move is meant to justify widespread arrests, violence, and the deployment of the military across the country.
In a statement shared on X on Friday, January 2, 2026, the NUP leader said the plan mirrors past election-related violence and is intended to intimidate supporters and suppress dissent.
He noted that the information he had received points to a deliberate strategy to provoke chaos before the vote, creating grounds for a heavy security crackdown. He linked the alleged plan to previous incidents that left many Ugandans dead, arrested, or forcibly disappeared during election periods.
“I’ve learnt from security circles of a plot by the desperate regime to have me arrested before polling day to create a pre-emptive massacre akin to what they did in November 2020,” he wrote.
He said such an arrest would not be isolated but part of a wider operation designed to clear the way for mass arrests and enforced disappearances across the country, all under the cover of restoring order.
Uganda is scheduled to head to the ballot on Thursday, January 15, 2026, to elect the President and the Parliament. The incumbent President Yoweri Museveni is seeking another term in the upcoming polls.