Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni won a seventh term in office on Saturday after an election marred by violence and an internet shutdown, with African observers saying arrests and abductions had “instilled fear”.
The 81-year-old Museveni won 71.65 percent of the vote in Thursday’s election, the Electoral Commission said, amid reports of at least 10 deaths and intimidation of the opposition and civil society.
The president’s victory gives him the power to extend his 40-year rule of Uganda.
He defeated his major opposition, Bobi Wine, 43, a former singer-turned-politician who won 24.72 percent and said he was in hiding on Saturday after a raid by security forces on his home.
Wine has faced relentless pressure since entering politics, including multiple arrests before his first run for the presidency in 2021.
He stated his “complete rejection of the fake results” and said he was on the run after the raid on his home on Friday night.
“I want to confirm that I managed to escape from them,” Wine posted on X on Saturday. Currently, I am not at home, although my wife and other family members remain under house arrest.
“I know that these criminals are looking for me everywhere and I am trying my best to keep safe,” he added.
According to AFP, there was a heavy police presence around the capital, Kampala, as security forces sought to prevent the sort of protests that have hit neighbouring Kenya and Tanzania in recent months.
Museveni joins the likes of Teodoro Obiang of Equatorial Guinea (since 1979), Paul Biya of Cameroon (since 1982), reflecting decades-long dominance in political leadership across the continent.