Bobi Wine Released from Police Custody Following Arrest

Yesterday, Ugandan politician and leader of the now popular People Power Movement, Bobi Wine, was arrested after police interrupted a rally that was a part of his 2021 presidential bid by firing teargas at his supporters.

Standard Digital News reports that Wine was released from prison just a few hours ago and has expressed that he is even more determined than ever to "unseat" President Yoweri Museveni and bring an end to his three-decade long rule.

Having firmly established himself as President Museveni's fiercest opposition yet, Wine started off the new year in police custody once again after he allegedly "failed to comply with the Public Order Management Act and Electoral Commission guidelines". His colleagues were also arrested just before the rally in the central district of Wakiso.

Following his release from police custody, Wine said, "Our challenge is we are dealing with a government that does not respect the law. We are telling President Museveni and his police to respect the law and the ground should be leveled." He ended by saying, "We are taking you on in 2021 and we are winning."

South Africa's opposition party, the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), recently released a statement wherein it's leaders condemned Wine's arrest and likened Museveni to the late Ugandan dictator Idi Amin. The statement reads as follows:

"To require of citizens to first get the police or Electoral Commission's permission is a violation of the freedom of assembly, which is a fundamental human right that cannot be subject to police authority. The reality is that the authoritarian and power-mongering Museveni wants to impose restrictions on opposition parties, monitor their events and at times refuse them permission, all in the name of clinging to power. He is, in this regard, the perfect emulation of Idi Amin."

While it is commonplace for police serving under President Museveni's current government to break up rallies organized by opposition parties, those in power to continue to deny doing so for the purposes of maintaining President Museveni's rule.

Speaking to the press yesterday, Ugandan police commander Edson Muhangi said that Wine was prohibited by law from staging mass gatherings in an open area. "This one is not an enclosed place, we cannot even allow them to be here." Muhangi added that, "We are reliably informed that their aim is to engage us so that they can be seen exchanging words, fighting with the police and tarnishing the image of Uganda."