Last month, a grand electoral theft took place in Uganda when incumbent President Yoweri Museveni—in power since 1986—was declared the winner of an election that was neither free nor fair. As if to cement Museveni’s continued reign, his most significant challenger, the popular musician Bobi Wine, was placed under house arrest for 12 days. Even after the High Court ordered his release, military choppers hovered over his house.
Wine isn’t the only opposition figure to face intimidation in the wake of the election. One of Museveni’s harshest critics in recent years, the activist Stella Nyanzi, recently fled Uganda to seek asylum in Kenya. Nyanzi, who failed in her parliamentary bid last month, said her partner was arrested and tortured after the vote. Moreover, several Ugandan members of Parliament have raised concerns over the alleged kidnapping of 44 people by Ugandan security forces during the election, 31 of whom remain missing.
