This archive report was first published on 9 October 2019.
On Wednesday, chaos rocked the streets of Kampala, Uganda, as singer-turned-politician Bobi Wine, whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi, was forced to flee from police during a confrontation.
According to reports, Wine was protesting after his planned Independence Day concert was blocked by authorities. The concert was scheduled to take place on a day when police officers would be at the Independence Day celebrations in Sironko and other authorized venues, as stated by police spokesman Patrick Onyango in an earlier statement.
Wine's home in Magere was surrounded by police and military officials early Wednesday morning in an attempt to block him from proceeding with the concert. He took to social media to share photos of police vehicles and spiked road barriers leading to his lakeside property and home.
Wine claimed that his home in Magere was under police and military siege, and that he was being placed under house arrest to block the Independence Day music concert. He also alleged that five Ugandan media houses had been threatened with revocation of their licenses for carrying a live coverage of police brutality against him and his supporters.
Wine, who joined politics in 2017 as an independent, has continuously condemned President Yoweri Museveni's policies and has been arrested several times in the recent past over his political stand. He has since declared his candidature for the 2021 presidential race, vowing to end Museveni's 33-year-rule over Uganda.
Chaos in Kampala streets as Bobi Wine flees from police on a boda boda. — Citizen TV Kenya (@citizentvkenya) October 9, 2019
